A Lighter Shade of Black
by Shadow Rise
Summary: Ginevra Weasley's seventh and final year at Hogwarts could prove to be her most interesting and, quite possibly, most fatal. DG. Sequel to 'A Darker Shade of Red' Rewritten: 1.2.2006
1. Of Owls and Aneurysms

_A Lighter Shade of Black_

_Of Owls and Aneurysms_

The day following that April one was bright and sunny and, for more than a few people, rather sad. Seeing as Taylor, Laura, and Nicole were there on an exchange program, the three were required to stay there over the summer, especially if they were staying to further their education. Draco and his crew were all going back to their not-so-happy homes to face their parents. Gin was going back to the burrow, to face her family like a man, er- woman. Katie was, of course, staying with her mummy.

"Miss Gin, you coming in summer?" Kate said, looking up at one of her mother's best friends.

Ginevra Weasley smiled sweetly at the four-and-a-half year old and, bending down, she pressed a kiss to the girl's left temple. "Of course I'll return, little one." she murmured, "I wouldn't wanna miss your birthday."

The girl grinned, showing off the gap inbetween where her middle teeth should have been, and enveloped the elder girl in a hug. "Okay."

Katie moved away and then stepped towards Draco. "You, too?" she questioned and stretched her arms towards him, wiggling her tiny little fingers in the universal sign of 'hug me!', which the blonde boy complied with quickly.

After everyone said their goodbyes and everyone was about to go their ways, Nicole approached Draco. "Thanks, Drake." she muttered.

"For what?" he asked, not quite understanding.

"For being a brother to Kate. I was afraid you'd just ignore her." the phantom girl said, wiping a transparent tear off her cheek.

Draco's face softened. "No problem." he said, "I always wanted a sister, but Malfoy's usually only have one child per generation."

"Oh gods, Draco, you're so sweet." she said and touched a hand to her face, "Oh, I'm getting all weepy. Well, I'll see you around."

He nodded and turned, entering his carrige with one swift movement. Cole waved at all the kids and teens that were leaving here with more than they left with.

"It feels weird, y'know, to be going home after all this time." Ginevra commented from his side.

They nodded their agreement.

"Miss Lupin-"

"Black." the three girls corrected the Potion's Master.

"Miss _Black_, hand me the crimsver."

Cole looked at him with this look that clearly stated he was a daft imbecile and pointed to the dark-red clover. "Can't, you get it."

"You are very lucky that term has yet to commence, or else-"

"Or else Gryffindor would have but one lowly little point left and I wouldn't get out of dention until I was thirty-effing-three, right?" she retorted from behind her large text, "Turn the page, please."

T.J. reached over, without looking, and flipped the page for her friend before turning back to her volume. The three girls and the Potion's Master had all been meeting in the Library for the past week of summer to research this anicent ritual that was supposed to make Nicole human again. The first description had given them hope, but was much too vague.

So far, all they had really accomplished was that Severus Snape was the perfect person to mess with when you were bored and wanted to pick on some one.

Laura Potter sighed and slammed the text she had been scanning down. "Nothing." she said, "I'm gonna go write Gin and go to bed, alright? Night, all."

They all said their goodnights and Laura was about to exit the large hall of knowledge when a lone book on Madame Pince's counter caught her eye. She quirked a brow at it in question. _Well, I wouldn't hurt to scan through it... We'll be right back in here tomorrow night, anyhow._

Sighing again, the teen swiftly scooped up the thick, green leather-bound book in her arms and made her way up to her dorm, all along wondering exactly why she'd picked up the book. With a small shudder as goosebumps crawled along her pale skin, Laura murmured the password to the Gryffindor common room and swept upstairs to her warm, comfortable bed with that book.

Laura slid on her green, flannel, froggy pajamas and tugged her hair out of its loose bun at the nape of her neck. She slid under the blanket on her bed, picked up the book again and lit her wand. She place her wand behind her left ear and began to read.

Well, she tried to read anyway.

"Damnit." she muttered darkly as she realized the words scratched neatly on the parchment were not in English.

She shurgged and closed the book, placing it on her bedside table. Reaching over, she opened the drawer and pulling out ink, a quill, and a roll of parchment. Loading her quill with ink, Laura began to write.

_Hey Ginevra,_

_How's the family treating you? Leaving you alone, I hope? Did you tell them about you and Drakie-cakes, yet? That will kill them, you know. A Weasley and a Malfoy together._

_The research on Nicole's curse thing isn't going too good. I found this book in the Library tonight; it gave me a **major** de ja vu. I can't read it, though, it's in Spanish or something. Do you think you, Charlie, and Bill wanna take a crack at it?_

_If you owl Drake and company; tell him his cousins, half-sister, and T.J. miss him. It's kinda weird, we're all connected somehow, except Tee. Heh._

_Well, love you lots,_

_Laura Potter_

Laura rolled up the small letter and placed it inside the drawer with her other stuff and went to sleep, planning to mail it tomorrow.

"Oh, if only you knew, dear niece. If only you knew."

Ginevra Weasley sat up in her bed quickly as she heard a tapping noise. She scrubbed her left eye with her palm and scanned the room for signs of life. Her cinnamon eyes landed on the window to her right and she rolled her eyes as she saw Laura's owl hovering there with an annoyed expression on its face and a letter hooked on its tallon.

Sighing, the teen swung her legs over the side and stalked towards said window. She opened it with a grunt and snatched the letter from the bird before slamming it shut again. She plopped onto her bed once again and ripped it open. After reading her friends words she glance at the bird that still hovered outside her window irratably. It was holding a shunken parcel.

Gin rolled her eyes and went to get the bird.

"Charles and William Weasley." Gin stated after throwing the green powder into the flames of the living room's fireplace.

She had been quick in her late-night expeditions as well as quiet. She hadn't wanted anyone in her family to find her contacting her eldest brothers in Egypt. The Floo charges were gonna be through the roof.

"What's all this then?" came a groggy Bill's voice.

"Hey guys, it's me, Ginevra." Gin whispered, "Keep it down, please. Mum will go mad if she finds me down here."

"Gin?" Charlie asked, "Do you **know **what time is? I have to be at the reserve at five!"

"Shh!" she snapped, "I was wondering if you guys could take your summer break soon? Laura owled saying she and the others needed some help translating this text she sent me. She thinks it might help."

The brothers glanced at eachother and nodded. "All right then, fair Ginevra." Bill said.

"Tell her we'll be there on Sunday, around noon." Charlie grinned.

Ginevra smiled and said her goodbyes to her brothers. She sprinted towards her room and started to write a reply to Laura in her head as she packed her clothes and things into her trunk.

_Laura,_

_Hello luv. Well, you're bloody owl is rather slow at sending letters._

_The damned bird woke me up at one-thirty in the bloody morning!_

_Anyway, I'm packing my stuff up right now and Charlie and Bill_

_said they'll be there on Sunday some time around noon. Now about_

_this book. I tried to figure it out tonight, but all I got was that it was_

_in either Italian or Spanish, and that if you try to read too hard, you_

_will have an aneurysm. I'll see you and the others tomorrow (Thurs.)._

_Much Love,_

_Ginevra M.W._

"Yeah, that's good." she murmured to herself with a grin, closing her trunk lid.

The next morn, the four girls made their ways into the Great Hall. Cole had said something about talking to Dumbledore and floated towards the staff table and the others were sitting at the "special table", as T.J. called it, eating their breakfasts went an owl flew into the large room and landed gracefully on Laura's plate.

"Hey Luneca." the blonde greeted, petting the tawny animal and removed the letter from its leg.

"Who sent it?" Teej asked through a mouth of toast.

"Eww." Katie stated, making a face at her "Aunt Tay".

Taylor stuck her food-covered tongue out at the small child and she made another face.

"It's from Gin," Laura replied, ignoring the duo's antics, "she's coming down... Today! She says Charlie and Bill are gonna be here on Sunday."

"Cool," the other teen said.

"Why is she coming so soon?" Cole inquired as she walked towards the three.

"Oh, well last night I found this book when I was walking out of the library. It was just there, no names on it or anything. It made me curious, so I grabbed it and tried to read it in the dorm; but I got nothing. She's coming down to help me translate it and bringing Charlie and Bill."

"Okay."

**End Chapter**


	2. Like a Book Upon a Shelf

_A Lighter Shade of Black_

_Like a Book Upon a Shelf_

_Faithful are the wounds of a friend;_

_but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful._

- Proverbs 27:6

Draco Malfoy was bored. Not that there wasn't anything he could do about it. He could have practiced Quidditch moves, but there was no need: he wasn't on a team. He could have visited his girlfriend, but he had the sneaking suspicion she that she hadn't told her family about them yet. He could have owled his friends, but they were working. He could have gone for a drink, but that would be rather despressing.

"I hate my life." Draco muttered to himself as he glanced at the large, hand-painted family portrait about the fireplace.

His father, if you wanted to call him that, was locked away in Azkaban for crimes to numerous and horrid to list. His mother, once so regal and strong, was now weakened in body and mind. After the mediwizard's at St. Mungo's had taken his father's Imperius curse off of her, the poor woman had snapped. She was so horrified by all that she had done to her son and so many other people that she had lost it.

And now, here he sat. Last of that Malfoy bloodlines... destined for misery and brooding... it wasn't like he wanted to live this life. He didn't ask to be the son of a Death Eater. He didn't ask to be proclaimed evil.

"Hell, I didn't even ask to be born." he said quietly.

Draco glanced once more around the den of Malfoy Manor. It was a beautiful house, no doubt about it, but it just held too many bad memories. He reached out and touched a photo of his mother and him out in the backyard on his seventh birthday. He remebered that toy broom Narcissa had given him... it was still somewhere around here...

Suddenly, a snapshot of that day came to mind. It was the very same that he held in his hand... but it was different...

_"Look mummy!" he shouted, turning and gliding in the air as smoothly as water, "Look Lena! I can do it!"_

_A little girl with a thick, honey-blonde plait down her back stood next to Narcissa's knees, clapping and grinning joyfully._

Draco felt tears trying to surface and pushed them down. What was that all about? Who was that little blonde with big, blue eyes like the moons?

Ginevra Weasley jumped as she heard a thump on the window. She was just about to leave when it came. _Hogwarts letter._ she thought as she snatched it away from the indignant tawny owl. She opened it quickly and scanned the book list. Gin had always loved books, despite the little diary incident, they contained knowledge and wisdom and secrets of sorts.

_**The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 7)** by Bathilda Bagshot_

_**Animals, Beasts and Creatures; The ABC Guide **by Grucia Gallswick_

_**Advanced History of the Magical World **by Quentin Binns_

_**Seeing Without **by Cassandra Escalus_

_**Taking N.E.W.T.s; the Quick Way to an Early Grave **byZachariah Pessamyst_

_**Cursed: Werewolves, Vampires and other Once-Humans **by Arasmus Attlepot_

_**The Elegant Universe **by Marsha Minnow_

_**Apprentice Masters' Potions **by Severus Snape_

_**Within the Mind, Beyond the Sight **by Clarissa Cleptic_

Gin furrowed her brow. "I didn't know Professor Snape wrote a book." she muttered curiously.

She shook it off and shoved the parchment into her cloak pocket and stepped into the fireplace quickly with floo powder in her right hand. She tossed it below her and disappeared with a bellow of, "Hogwarts, Gryffindor Tower!" The emerald flames swirled and flared around her and she closed her eyes tightly and held onto the trunk with all of her might. She screamed as the travel got more intense and it was harder hold onto her trunk.

Gin landed with a painful thunk and clatter upon the cobble-stone floor and groaned as a pain shot down her spine and ended in her butt cheeks. "Damn floo network... bloody worthless piece of—"

"Hey Ginny." came a casual voice from in front of her.

She brushed the soot from her eyes and looked up. "Hey Colin."

She had to admit, the seventh year Gryffindor had really grown up over the past years. He had started out as this skinny, mousy, hero-worshiping little boy, but had now become a rather attractive, muscled beater on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. His hair was short and colored like hay. His lovely eyes were the same blue-green oceanic color. He seemed to have lost that eagerness he used to have about him, now he was calm and cool... like the ocean.

He flashed her a charming smile and offered a hand to help her up. "You alright? That looked like a rough landing."

She stood before him on shaking legs and smiled weakly. "I don't do so good with floo."

"Obviously."

"So, what're you doing here?" she asked, grabbing her wand out of her pocket and flicking it at her trunk. It disappeared with a pop.

"Well, my parents... um... You-Know-Who... killed them." he said with a note of sadness, "So Dumbledore said Dennis and I could stay here until we can get in touch with Aunt Millie."

Gin cringed at her own stupidity. Why had she even asked? That was why _everyone _stayed at Hogwarts. "I'm sorry, Colin."

"It's okay."

"Hello poppets!" Ginevra called out gleefully as she entered the Great Hall where her friends sat.

T.J. was the first to jump to her feet. Katie soon followed with Laura right behind her. She let out a soft 'oof' as her friends bodies collided with her our and then glared at Cole and Colin's smirks of amusement at her situation.

"Um, ladies? Breathing... is... essential... " Gin said breathlessly.

It was amazing; these people hadn't seen each other in less than a month and they were acting like it had been centuries. She took in gasping breaths as her friends pulled back and Cole came forward.

"Good to have you back, Gin." she said with a smile.

"It's good to be back, Cole."

Gregory Goyle sat in his flat, mourning his own stupidity. _I kissed Pansy, I kissed Pansy... Pug-faced, Banshee Pansy Parkinson, evil princess of Slytherin_. he thought, swinging the bottle of amber liquid up to his lips once more,_ I lost Nicole... I lost her... Forever._

It wasn't as thoughhe had invited the action upon his person... it was because of that damnable mistletoe Dumbeldore insisted Hagrid put up everywhere! She had seen him walked under it and bend down to tie his shoelace and then just... kissed him.

"Damn it all."

He looked up at hearing a knock on the front door. He stood, already knowing who was there. Greg sighed and opened the oak door, straightening himself.

"Goyle."

There, in the doorway of Mr. Gregory Christian Goyle, stood Lucius Malfoy in all his hideous glory.

"Wilma! Charlie!" Nicole exclaimed, smiling widely at them, "I'd hug you, but... you know."

"Why do you still call me Charlie if you call him Wilma?" Charlie asked, ignoring the last comment.

"Because, face it doll, you've got a girl's name."

Bill snickered at the glare Charlie directed at Nicole.

"Who are you?" came a small voice from behind her.

Bill and Charlie exchanged a glance. Mum?

"Oh, Kay, these are Gin's older brothers. Bill and Charlie."

"Charlie? Girl's name."

"Well, what kind of name is Kay?"

"Not all of it."

"Oh." he muttered, "Well, who're you?"

Her pale hand shot out and she smiled shyly. "Kathleen Cordelia Lupin-Black-Malfoy. Katie Lupin-Black."

"William Weasley. Bill."

"Charles Weasley. Charlie."

"Cool ring." she said to Bill, pointing to his eyebrow before skipping away towards the library.

"I wish she'd tell that to Mum." Bill muttered.

"Uh, Cole, who are Katie's parents?"

The raven-haired ghost sighed and motioned them to follow her. "I'll tell you along the way."

"So, what've you got there, Bill?" Gin asked, refilling her brother's cup with black coffee.

"'Alla fine della luna nuova, il passato ritornerà dal luogo di riposo.' Roughly translated it means; 'To the end of the new moon, the past will return from the place of rest'." Bill said, nodding his thanks to her.

It was the eve of Monday, June 17th and every person residing in the ancient castle was frantic to find something before the ritual had to take place, exactly one month later. Even the Creevey brothers were helping the cause.

"So, what the bloody hell does that mean?" Laura asked.

"Not sure exactly."

"I don't care, it sounds interesting to me. It might be useful, mark it and gimme it." Dennis said.

No one was ready for the ritual, everything was taking so long to find and all the right books were in the least likely places to be found by them.

The woman sighed and placed herself upon the chair in front of her looking glass.This would not do. They had to find everything in less than a month's time.

"You know, you shouldn't look at that thing so much."

She nodded her head and tossed the white and blue scarves over the glass. "You're right, I suppose. I'm just worried about Weasley."

"I know, my love, but you can't be too worried. They'll figure it all out sooner or later."

_Let's just hope it's not too late when they do._ she thought.

Ginevra ran her index finger over the titles upon the top shelf in front of her. She was pulling an all-nighter by herself tonight, she did that sometimes. She raised a brow as she spotted a familiar symbol etched on the spine of a velvet covered book. It was a silver 'C' and a red 'E' entwined together.

"'Author: Escalus, Cassandra'." she read off of the card under the books.

_'Seeing Without'? Isn't that one of the books for school?_ Gin thought, pulling it from it's place.

"Might as well have a peek." she muttered.

**End Chapter **


	3. Books and Mist

_A Lighter Shade of Black_

_Books and Mist_

Ginevra opened the book and smiled at seeing words in English. No translation needed, that was always nice.

"'Seeing Without; the complete, self-updating, book to all prophecies'." she read quietly.

_Welcome to the exciting world of Divination!_

Gin rolled her eyes and flipped forward.

_Now we will start with the 'Snake of 1926' predicted by Brun Cibil. It was a prophecy telling about the rise of a new Dark Lord, i.e. Voldemort._

She sighed and flipped forward again. Right now she didn't need to hear about Voldemort.

_Pure and of the dark is she_

_With companions, three,_

_Loyal and faithful,_

_And she will love he_

_Betrayal shall befall the one caught between life and death_

_History joins she with nothing but the others_

_Feeling saves the girl of blood to the Prince_

_Friend of the betrayer, be captive by Corruption_

_The Queen sees darkness as the Prince feels evils abroad_

_As the end of the new moon approaches,_

_The past returns from the place of resting and lies..._

Ginevra furrowed her brow. Why did those last two lines sound so familiar?

"It's rather late to be out in the library, Gin, don't you think?" came a soft voice from behind her.

She turned and smiled at Taylor. "Hey there, Greemhorn, what're you doing down here?"

The other girl shrugged. "Eh, I was restless; thought I'd see if you were still down here." she replied, "What's that?"

Remembering exactly what she was doing, Gin handed her friend the book. "It's a prophecy." she stated, "Do the last two lines sound familiar, or is it just me?"

She stayed silent as her friend read the page. "Betrayal shall befall the one caught between life and death... " Taylor murmured, "As the end of the new moon, approaches; the past returns from the place of resting and lies... I think this is our prophecy."

The redheaded girl just sighed and shook her head. "I really can't deal with this right now. I'm too tired."

Cole floated down the hall sadly, nibbling her bottom lip in thought. It was the first of June. About three months until the first term of her seventh year and she was dead, but not. _Bloody hell._

As she entered the Great Hall, she could see her friends plopped down at the Gryffindor table.

She sighed uselessly. Gryffindor. What had she done to deserve the house? She wasn't brave; no, she'd demolished that possibility when she killed herself to be rid of Voldemort. She wasn't strong; she hadn't taken care of her own daughter when she was growing up. She wasn't courageous; she didn't go charging into battle to save her own world.

No. She was the ghost girl who killed herself and couldn't do anything right.

"'Lo all, what's up?" she said cheerily, seating herself next to Colin Creevey.

Being a ghost was strange. She couldn't touch or eat, but she could fly and walk through walls and sit down.

"Nothing much, found an interesting book stuffed with prophecies last night." Gin replied, holding it up so she could read the cover.

"'Seeing Without'," she said aloud, "Clever."

They all looked up as the morning post flew in overhead. Ginevra recognized Ron's owl, Pig, as he soared into the Hall. The once little brown owl had grow and changed a lot over the period of the last five years. He was now graceful and large, and his color had changed from dark brown to shades of amber. He really was beautiful.

"Hey Pigwidgeon." she said, plucking the crisp white envelope from his beak.

"Who's it from?" Laura asked.

A slight frown passed over her face. "My dad."

A hush fell upon the group of friends at those words; Gin had not been on good terms with her parents in quite a while, and both Molly and Arthur knew this. So why would they owl her?

Gin opened the envelope and read to herself.

_Dear Ginevra,_

_I know that you are most likely very busy with everything going_

_on with Nicole, but would you at least consider coming back to_

_Grimmauld Place for a week? Your mother is feeling awful, says_

_she's only just gotten Percy back and she doesn't need to lose her_

_only daughter. You could bring your friends with you, but please..._

_Think about it._

_With love,_

_Dad_

A small, tiny, smile graced her face. So he wanted her to come to the Safe House so Mum wouldn't be so sad any longer?

"He wants me to come to the Order's safe house for a few weeks. Mum's upset about not seeing me." she said, folding the letter up and pocketing it.

"Heh." was all T.J. said.

"Yeah. So, we gonna get to work?"

There were mumbled replies to her question and Gin deducted that they would join her and Cole after breakfast.

_Three days later..._

"We should just do some original magic." T.J. said from her perch on the window ceil.

Three heads turned to the ebony-eyed girl. The boys had yet to rise from their beds and meet them in the library, so it was just Katie, Cole, Gin, T.J., and Laura.

"What?"

She rolled her eyes at Laura. "'Original magic; the creation of a custom spell by witches and/or wizards of power to better cure the situation of which they need the spell,'" she recited perfectly from memory, "I learned about it at the Academy."

"Well, how would we pull that off?" Laura asked, "Apparently, that kind of thing would have to have a lot of power behind it."

"Yeah, not to mention it has to be illegal." Cole added, "That doesn't bother me, but I thought I'd throw it out there."

"So how do we do it?"

And so, the three girls and the ghost began to configure chants and find out which powers to call upon. They were doing something illegal, but it was for a friend... we all know these girls can't stay out of trouble for very long.

Blaise ran a pale hand over his face as a loud thumping sounded throughout his living room. He allowed his bright blue eyes to drift over the alarm clock to his right. _Six forty-five_.

"Bloody hell... " he grumbled under his breath, "I'm coming, I'm coming... "

As he stumble over and opened the door, an out of breath Draco grabbed him by the collar and started dragging him over to the fireplace. "Pillock!" the young man yelled, "Hurry up, we have to go!"

Blaise, usually so knowledgable and composed, was now starting to worry. His friend was never anything near so wild and rough in his movements. He allowed the blonde to drag him to the fireplace and toss in the green powder.

As feet landed on the lush grass of the Hogwarts grounds, Tracey and Greg both knew something was extremely wrong in the place.

"C'mon, let's go." Tracey mumbled, headed straight for the front doors.

Blaise glanced around as the soot settled around them. "Draco, what's going on? Why are we at Hogwarts?"

Draco was silent, simply walking towards the pale white door of the hospital wing. Blaise followed. "Dra - "

"It's the girls," he interrupted, "They something incredibly stupid and dangerous last night... "

_July 17th, 1997_

Ginevra set up candles as Laura made the black-tinted sea salt circle. T.J. was still off changing out of her robes. Laura stood straight now, brushing away salt grains on her dress of chaste white.

"Done."

Gin followed her actions and tucked the matches away with the left over supplies while dusting her hands on the crimson fabric of her dress. "Ready."

Taylor appeared moments later from the other side of Green House 6 in a gown of raven.

"I guess we're all ready." she commented, voice betraying her nervousness.

Gin gingerly kneeled on the ground just outside of the circle, her skirts making a scarlet pool around her. T.J. and Laura followed the suit.

Laura grasped one of the many small candles round the three of them, allowing Nicole to step into the center of the circle, (the other two doing the same) and tipped three drops of wax into her palm.

Hissing in pain, she quickly clasped her hands with Ginevra's and Taylor's.

"Do it... Cole..." T.J. gasped out, tears coming to her eyes as the magic wax continued to sear her hands.

Nicole faced the beautiful, round moon and shut her eyes, breathing in a deep, useless breath.

"_I have suffered the fate of only see, I wish for the life I had before_," she began, "_Grant my request now, I plea, Open the door and let me free!_"

"_Invoco il potere di Damia!_" Ginevra exclaimed, tears streaking her cheeks as the power drained from her.

"_Invoco il potere di Aradia!_" Taylor followed, just as the rain began from above.

All four let out small shrieks as lightening fell down, making the earth beneath them shudder. Red smoke appeared, twisting round Nicole's hour-glass figure. Soon a black smoke joined it, twirling and crackling with magic and lightening.

"Go Laura!" Gin screamed.

"_Invoco il potere di Hanna!_" Laura gasped out, opening her eyes to see a white mist seep from her skin and join the rest of them in the complex dance of smoke.

"_Invochiamo il potere di Zeus!_"They all four exclaimed.

They all screamed in horror as a bolt of golden lightening shot down, right to the spot where Nicole was, splitting through her.

_And then there was nothing..._

**End Chapter**


	4. Souls to Save

_A Lighter Shade of Black_

_Souls to Save_

Blaise sat heavily on a nearby hospital bed and looked up at Draco.

"Are they alright?"

Draco nodded. "Ginevra, Laura and Taylor… " his voice drifted off.

"And Nicole?"

Draco looked away from his cousin just as the doors to the wing swung open once more. Tracey and Greg rushed in quickly, followed soon by the Creevey brothers.

"Where are they?" Tracey asked immediately.

"In there." Blaise replied, nodding to the white curtains.

Greg lingered behind as they all headed to check on the girls. _This is all my fault,_ he thought, _I know, somehow, that I deserved this. But not Nikki… Not Blaise or Tracey or the others. Not them._

"Is she okay?" he inquired quietly to Draco.

"Yes, Gin, Laura and Taylor are fine."

"What about Ni… What about Black?"

The blonde cleared his throat awkwardly and Goyle's eyes snapped up from the floor to meet Draco's icy blues. Tracey emerged and motioned to Blaise that he could come sit with Laura while glancing curiously at Greg and Draco. The other two were left alone.

"Malfoy, where's Nicole?" Goyle growled, dark eyes piercing into the blonde's.

"Well… you see…"

"Where is she!" he snapped, slamming Malfoy into the wall and holding him there by his collar.

Draco whispered something incoherent.

"What?"

"I said… I said they don't know."

The larger boy's eyes were blazing with fury. "What do you mean_ they don't know_?" he hissed in a deadly tone.

"After the lightening shot down, through Black, they all passed out… But Nicole wasn't there. They can't find her body, spirit, ghost… hell, they can't find her shoes!"

Snape swept into the room swiftly and stared at the scene with an arched brow. Greg just let Malfoy go and stalked from the wing, his aura daring some one to say anything.

Draco shook his head and quickly made his way to Ginevra's side. He looked down into her beautiful face. She was so pale… Not like her usual ivory-alabaster tone, she was almost transparent now. Her blue-purple veins stood out all over her body, up and down her arms and legs… in her face and neck… everywhere…

The blonde ran a hand over his face and took her hand in his own.

_I love you, Red._

…

She was so tired… and so hungry… everything on her hurt so much. All she wanted to do was sleep… But she had to do something. But what was it?

She opened her eyes. Everything was so dark… and soft. She reached up and felt around. For some reason, her hands only made it a few inches before they were pushing on a soft, silky material that was also solid. What was going on?

She felt tears of fear swelling in her eyes. Why was she here? Wherever here was…

"Help…" she whispered, "Some one please help me… _Help_."

She kept pushing on the fabric above her; pushing, shoving, punching, kicking.

"_Help! HELP ME!_" she screamed, "_HELP ME PLEASE!_"

The woman stared into the mirror in horror as she watched the scene play out. Quickly tossing a tattered scarves over the looking glass, she ran, about to go and warn somebody, anybody, of what was happening. But she fell short in this run to heroism because of her lover's arms wrapping tightly around her waist.

"My darling, it'll be alright," he soothed, holding her close, "She'll be alright. She's strong."

Her petite frame shook from her sobs of worry. He pulled her away from his chest and wiped the salty tears away from her cheeks with his thumbs. She gave a watery smile and sighed.

"It's too hard," she whispered, voice cracking, "I worry about those girls. They are so delicate and so very important to everything..."

"I know, luv." he smiled, "I worry, too, but they're big kids and they can live their own lives."

"Do you think we'll all be together ever again?"

"Of course... Eventually Taylor will know. Maybe she'll know the whole story."

…

Harry, in all honesty, didn't really like Hermione all that much as a girlfriend. But, Hermione felt the same way. In the beginning, which seemed so long ago by now, it had been great; passion and feeling and want and everything… Now all that was keeping them together was…

_Wait a second,_ Harry thought,_ What _**is**_ keeping me with Mione?_

Nothing came to mind that could actually need them to be together. The great battle only needed them to be united in tactics, not in bed.

Harry glanced over at the brunette, who had her nose stuffed in a book of some sort, next to the fire in the den of the safe house. She was beautiful, really, their was just something so… logical about her. She was obvious and correct. She made sense.

The only girls Harry had a chance with were always like Hermione. He wanted - No, he needed a girl that smiled and laughed, a girl that loved life and was crazy and wild.

_A girl like… **Ginny**?_

Harry stared at the fire and arched an eyebrow. _Ginny, eh?_

"Hey, Mione?"

"Yes Harry?"

"I think we should talk."

…

Ginevra shivered in the chilling breeze. She was so cold and the woods were dark and deep… she was lost. Lost in the dark, enchanted forest. She might never get back to the world…

She wrapped her arms around her body tightly and searched for any sign of life in the darkness. _Nothing._

As she walked, Ginevra soon came upon a large silver-purple pool. She kneeled down in front of the pool and gently touched her fingertips to the waters. As she did, images flashed before her eyelids… images of blood and skin and pain and… victory.

…

Draco stared intently into his lover's pale face, willing her silently to awaken and kiss his lips so that he could hold her and be held in return. Draco squeezed her body to his for a moment as the smallest of tears slid down his cheek.

"You can't leave me, queen. You can't do this to me… " he whispered hoarsely, "I won't live… not without you."

She did not awaken then, and neither did any of the others. Three days went by; still Taylor and Laura slept in comatose-like states; Ginevra stayed in the woods; and Nicole was not heard from. Gregory was supposed by the other boys to have gone out looking for Black. Draco had only left Gin's side to shower and eat... And that was just the two times.

…

Blaise ran his fingers over Laura's pale flesh. Her complexion was not as bad as Ginevra's anymore. Laura had actually began to gain a small amount of color. He tucked a stray piece of honey brown hair behind her ear and sighed. She was nothing like the other girls he'd ever dated.

Laura was beautiful. Truly and unbelievably. All those Slytherins… they were blonde and raven-haired. Either ditzy or cynical. Always impure and evil, though. Laura shone with intelligence and talent. A hidden strength… She was so great…

"You may not hear this, sweet, but... Laura, I think -"

"What is it?" she whispered, a grin creeping to her face and her voice hoarse.

Blaise's gaze shot up from the hand he held to her face. He instantly went to hug her and he almost did, until she stopped him with a hand. "Too sore."

"Oh… right."

She opened her bottle-green eyes and looked up into his cobalt ones. "What were you saying?"

"I… I think I love you, Laura."

Tears sprang into her newly opened eyes and she flung her arms around his neck. "I love you, too, Blaise Zabini."

**End Chapter**


	5. Awakening

_A Lighter Shade of Black_

_Awakening_

Taylor snapped her eyes open and gasped. It had felt like she was swimming. She was trapped under the water, she couldn't get out or scream for help. But now, looking around, she saw that that was exactly what she had been doing. She stepped out of the waters in the pool to find her body completely dry.

"T.J.?"

She turned around to see Gin standing there with a shocked expression on her face. The two ran together and embraced each other.

"What happened?" they both asked at once and then smiled.

"I dunno, Teej, but I think there's something going on… And I don't like it."

Taylor nodded. "What's up with the pool, anyway?"

Gin shrugged and sat down on the ground, legs tucked up under her. "I touched it earlier and got all of these pictures in my head… Like a vision or something."

"Well, bloody hell, I was swimming in it! Tell you the truth, I feel kind of… I don't know, different. Like… complete."

Ginevra's eyebrows hit her hairline. "We've gotta get out of here."

"Well, let's see… I was swimming and then you touched the water and I came out, right?"

"Right..._ So?_"

"So, we're walking now, all we have to do is get out of the woods!"

"Of course! You're brilliant, Teej!"

She grinned. "I know."

And so, they began to walk.

…

Hermione ascended the stairway up to her room, her whole body numb with shock. She was too stunned to think.

Harry had broken up with her. He'd said something about how they wanted "different things".

Well, Hermione wasn't stupid; she knew exactly what those different things were… Or, rather, who. She'd known the moment Ginny walked down the stairs in her new style the previous summer. Ginny had thought no one noticed her, Hermione knew how that went, but Hermione had noticed… And she had not liked it. She'd seen it as a threat, a threat to her and Harry's relationship.

Harry didn't want her. Hermione could deal with that. Harry wanted Ginny. She could handle that. She would not fly off the handle like a mad woman. She would not yell or shout or get mad.

Because Hermione didn't want Harry.

…

Ron creaked open his door at the first knock. He looked down into Hermione ivory face and she flung her arms around his shoulders, silently crying into his shirt.

"Mione? C'mon, luv, what's the matter?" he asked, gut twisting as she cried.

"Ron, I'm so stupid!" she whispered, "I thought he really loved me, but he doesn't… He loves some one else and I thought I loved him but I don't!"

Ron scooped her up in his arms and lay her on his bed next to him. She lay there, curled into his chest, just breathing and thinking. She looked up in his face as he tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. She slid her hand up to his neck and pulled his head down closer to hers and he held her tight against his body. Their lips met and now long after, his tongue slipped into her mouth timidly.

Hermione wanted to smile; he was nervous about her. She knew damn well that Ron Weasley was no pure virgin boy, so why should he be nervous around her? She should be the nervous one…

But she'd never been so sure of anything.

…

Just as T.J. saw the sunlight shining through the tree branches, she felt herself being pulled. Pulled from Gin, from the ground, from the world…

And into the waters again.

She tried desperately to scream, to save herself. To reach the air again… But she couldn't… She couldn't do anything but sink… She sunk down to the very bottom of the waters and felt her eyes shut and her mouth open. Bubble erupted from her lips and floated up to the surface, carrying her words into the sky.

"_Help…"_

…

Draco held her delicate, graceful hand in his own callous and rough one with all the care he possessed. He loved her so dearly…

He was a rich man, this much was true, but if Ginevra would simply open up those golden orbs of hers and give him that room-brightening smile… He would give every last penny for that smile right now.

She was the light in his life, the only good. If she was gone, there was no hope for Draco Malfoy.

Ginevra arched her back and let out a small scream. It was most painful thing to return one's soul into their body, but when said body was sore and tired, it was much more exhausting.

The redhead looked over at Draco and smiled. "Draco..." she whispered, he leaned down and pressed his lips over her own softly.

"I love you, Weaselgirl."

"I love you, too, you effing ferret…" she murmured, eyes slipping shut.

Draco choked up a smile. He pressed his lips to her knuckles and curled up beside her in bed, her head snuggled into his chest.

…

Tracey had nodded off sometime around three in the morning. In all honesty, could you blame the poor kid? Gin and Laura had woke up yesterday and were sitting up and chatting already, while his T.J. was still unconscious and he was still hurting. And all he needed right now was either sleep or Taylor.

He decided to settle for sleep.

_He was sitting at the edge of the lake. He was simply staring out at the water, dark and blue, waiting. The air was changed, and he knew something was about to happen._

_Tracey's eyes shot to the waters as a pale, slender hand shot out of them, groping for something… anything._

_His body jumped forward without a thought to what may happen and grabbed the hand, hauling the body out of the icy blue depts of the lake._

_The girl was dead-weight in his arms with midnight black hair hanging wet in her face. He lay her on the ground and pushed the thick mane from her face and gasped._

"_Taylor?"_

…

They both snapped awake, looking into the other's eyes.

"You saved me." she breathed.

"I-I did?"

"You pulled me out." she said, tears brimming, "If you hadn't, I would never have woken up, luv."

Tracey wrapped her up in his arms and breathed her scent in. He smiled, despite himself.

She smelled of the ocean.

**End Chapter**


	6. Days are but Days

_A Lighter Shade of Black_

_Days are but Days_

The number of days since he had stormed out of the hospital wing was lost to Greg's mind. At first, he only moped around the Three Broomsticks, ordering enough firewhiskey to drown a hippogriff. He racked his brain, desperately thinking of the places she could be.

In the end, he came up with nothing. No reasonable place for Nicole to be.

"Gods, I miss her." he muttered.

Suddenly, Rosemerta appeared before him and grabbed up the almost full firewhiskey bottle.

"Get out." she stated simply.

"W-What?"

"Get out." she repeated, "Go back to Hogwarts and visit your friends. Wish them well, at least, because they have someone to love, while you only pine after someone who doesn't trust you at all anymore."

Greg stood and pulled his cloak on, dropping a few coins on the bar. "Bye, Rosie."

"Maybe you'll find something useful there, Greg."

…

Taylor sat in Albus Dumbledore's tea room surrounded by her friends and, of course, Albus.

"You said you felt… _different_, correct?" he asked her.

"Yes, Headmaster," she said, "For the past two nights, I've been having these dreams."

"About?"

"They seem like… I dunno, memories." she replied, holding her head in hands, "They're always just these little flashes, but I can still make sense out of them. Then, I wake up and I just can't put it together again."

"Do you think the spell affected you somehow?"

All the girls looked to the floor at the mention of that night. None of them had heard anything of Nicole, or from Greg for that matter.

"Maybe," she whispered, "it _was _a powerful spell."

"And I've been getting migraines lately, I think it might be from the magic around here, so much filling up one space." Laura said.

"And you, Miss Weasley?"

"Me? Oh, well, nothing really." she said, "I have dreams about normal weird things, I don't feel different, no migraines or anything."

"I see." he murmured, pressing his fingertips together, "Thank you, ladies, you may go."

The three girls stood and left the headmaster to himself. They walked in silence, all lost in their own thoughts, all the way down to the entrance hall of the castle. But when Ginevra spotted Greg standing there, searching for any signs of life, she hit her knees right there on the marble.

"Oh goddess, Gin, are you okay?" T.J. said, dropping next to her friend.

Laura rushed off. "I'll get Dumbledore!" she called over her shoulder.

"Goyle!" Gin called in a voice that was anything but her own. It was so distorted… T.J. was shocked.

The tall boy approached her and jumped as she grabbed his hand in a death grip. Her head shot up and she looked him straight in the eye with her large, now blackened, orbs.

"She is in the earth, trapped in wood, laid to rest, only to do so no more." she said, grip tightening, "Her new purity rests, tonight she must return, Betrayer you must save her, atone you sins."

She released his hand quickly, gasping for air as though she had been holding it in. Her eyes faded back to their regular honey brown and she looked up at T.J. with fear.

"What's happening to me, T.J.?" she asked, tears falling down her cheeks.

"You're a seer, Ginevra," T.J. whispered into her hair, "you have such a lovely gift, Gin, and it'll all be okay, I promise. We'll all take care of you."

Gin held onto her friend, held her like she was drowning in the sea and only Taylor could save her.

"I love you, T.J." she whispered.

"Love you too, baby girl."

T.J. wasn't sure where all this loving assurance had come from. Usually she had always been the one needing comfort or help. She was the one to be supported, not the supporter. But, lately, a lot of things had been different. Gin needed some one to hold her up and she was the only one around.

Taylor turned towards Goyle and let out a harsh whistle. Greg looked over at her with raised eyebrows.

"You heard the witch, she's in a place of rest!"

Greg had wide eyes as he rushed out into the courtyard. "Thank you so much!" he called over his shoulder to her.

T.J. stared after the rushing man, shaking her head. Soon enough, Dumbledore and Laura arrived soon followed by Madame Pomfrey. They laid Ginevra on a stretcher and floated her up to the hospitial wing. She needed rest.

…

Gregory knew exactly where she was. He silently cursed himself for not realizing it sooner, because it was the simplest thing in the world. The spell had been cast to send Nicole back to corporeal body, the problem was the girls never thought to actually retrieve said corporeal body from her grave in Hogsmeade cemetery.

"Brilliant! Oh, thank you so much, Ginevra Weasley!" he exclaimed, reaching the ground he was searching for.

Greg flicked his wand at the shovel outside Rosemerta's tavern and watched as it flew into his opened palm. He flicked his wand again and the shovel set to digging up the soil. He would have her up on the surface soon enough.

…

She opened her eyes, though it made no difference, all was still dark. When had she fallen asleep? How long had she slept? She shook her head and sighed. No reason in wondering about pointless questions, it didn't matter. She was awake now and feeling much better.

"What woke me, I wonder?" she said aloud.

Just then, she heard a scraping sound above her. She jerked, surprised to say the least.

And then she screamed for help.

…

"Miss Weasley?"

Gin looked up at the nurse from her bed. "Yes, Madam Pomfrey?"

"Ginevra, dear, had many times has this type of thing happened?"

Gin's thoughts flooded back to that night after Cole died, when she was going through her things in the dorm… When she touched the knife, it had been just like this. The redhead looked up at her again.

"Once before, I touched the knife Nicole had in her trunk and all these… memories came flooding into my head. But they weren't my memories. They were hers. "

The elder witch took a seat next to her bed.

"Oh my…" she whispered, "And how did it happen this time? Did you do anything?"

"No, ma'am." Gin began, trying to remember exactly what had happened, "T.J., Laura, and I were walking down to the Great Hall after meeting with Professor Dumbledore. I looked down at the bottom of the stairs and I saw Greg… and I felt this pain… it shock from the bottom of my spine and all the way up to the back of my skull, then it spend into my whole mind… and I blacked out."

"Goodness me…"

"When I came to, T.J. and Greg were looking down at me and Laura was rushing to find you and the headmaster."

As she finished, Madam Pomfrey touch a hand to her mouth in astonishment.

"What's wrong with me?"

"Oh Ginevra, darling, there isn't anything wrong with you." she replied, patting her shoulder, "You just have a special power, dear, nothing to worry about. You're a touch-know seer."

At her confused look, Poppy continued, "Sometimes, when you touch certain things, you get a sort of reading off of them. You'll see the past or what happened when it was around or how it was once used."

Ginevra realized that this confirmed her thought about Cole cutting herself at the way her mother treated her and the things that happened to her.

"I see." she whispered.

"But, Miss Weasley, you must realize that only creatures that are not fully human may possess this power and be safe." Poppy added, "Even Sibyl is not fully human, with her little bit of dwarf's blood. Therefore, Ginevra, you must let me run a DNA scan to see if there's a chance of anything in your ancestry that isn't human."

Gin nodded her consent. She certainly couldn't say anything at the moment, because she knew two things that doomed her right now.

One, she didn't have anything but human and witch's blood in her DNA.

And two, if she didn't get something else soon, the visions would kill her.

She sighed as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

_Goddess help me._

**End Chapter**


	7. Get Out

_A Lighter Shade of Black_

_Get Out_

Greg tossed the shovel aside and stared down at the mahogany below. He had heard her cry for help moments ago and started to dig quickly. He eased down into the hole and somehow managed to lift open the lid of the casket.

And there she was. His beautiful Nicole. She lay there on white silk with this look of thanks, shock, and confusion on her face. But something was off… something different about her. Greg shook his head and held out his hand to her.

"C'mon, girlie, get out of the box."

She took his hand and he pulled her up to stand. The girl wore a black sundress and black knee-socks with her Mary-Janes for the school uniform. He looked down into her eyes and noticed something… new… but he couldn't quite place it.

…

Laura sat with T.J. in the waiting area, waiting for news on Gin. T.J. could see that something was really bothering her friend, something besides the way Gin had pulled a Trelawney, but she wasn't quite sure.

"You wanna hear something weird?" the emerald-eyed girl side-glanced at T.J.

"Sure, what?"

"You know how super-sensitive I've been lately around here because of all the spells and magic?"

"Yeah?"

"When Gin hit the floor in there… I could feel some strange vibes coming off her," she continued, "like something strong… something big, powerful, growing inside her."

"Magic?"

"Yes, but too much just for one witch... Hell, it was too much for a whole coven!"

Laura could practically hear the gears turning in the black-haired witch's head at those words.

"Too much for a coven, eh?" she smirked, idea fully formed in her head.

And, for once, Laura had a good feeling about one of T.J.'s ideas.

…

After a while in the castle, Draco had opted to take Katie off the Creevey brothers' hands. He knew she was a handful for the two, them not being around Malfoys a lot (especially Malfoy **children**). But, in all truth, she was starting to tire him out.

Draco was sprawled out on his couch when Katie ran in, jumping atop his stomach.

"_Dra-co_…"

"_Wha-at_?"

"Go."

"Go?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at his young sibling, "Where?"

But, even as he asked her this, he was putting on his shoes.

"Miss Gin." she said, as though it were obvious and he was annoying her with doubt and questions, "Sally is mean to me. Make him stop."

Draco froze at this, slowly looking up to see his sister standing there in one of his older, smaller t-shirts, barefoot… And looking at the spot beside his couch with a harsh glare. He furrowed his brow in confusion before scooping her up and dashing down the stairs and into the street. Katie looked up at him, frustrated.

"Ro says she take care of."

"Who is—"

They were going past the graveyard quickly, until Draco saw something that almost made him drop Katie.

"Mummy!" Katie screamed.

Jumping out of her elder sibling's arms, she ran towards the pair standing next to an open grave. Draco ensued.

…

Ginevra sat up in her bed so suddenly that the other two occupants of the area jumped up, wands at the ready and eyes wide.

"I've got a wand and I'm not afraid to use it, you motherfu-"

"Laura!" T.J. snapped.

"Just me, no need to be alarmed." Gin smiled, sadness creeping away for the moment.

T.J. smiled and slid her wand into its holder at her side.

"What's up with the jerking?" Laura asked, tucking her wand into her back pocket.

"It's Cole," she whispered, smile forming, "Help me up."

The other two helped her up and they began their way to Hogsmeade, Gin telling them what Madame Pomfrey said about her "condition" all the way.

**End Chapter**


	8. Memories of Us

_A Lighter Shade of Black_

_Memories of Us_

_Forget his name, forget his face_

_Forget his kiss and warm embrace_

_Forget the love that once was true_

_Remember how he betrayed you_

_Forget the times you spent together_

_Remember now he's gone forever_

…

She stared up into the man's face, he seemed to know her… What was going on? She didn't know him, she couldn't even remember her own name.

"Mummy!"

Her head snapped to the her left to see a small girl with jet-black curls rushing towards her, her piercing blue-gray eyes twinkling. The girl was soon followed by a blonde man with those same piercing blue-gray eyes. That must have been her father…

She was brought out of her thoughts with an 'oof' when the girl flung herself around her legs.

"Excuse me, sir, but could you please get your daughter off of me?" she requested.

He looked at her like she was crazy. "Black, that is not even funny."

She furrowed her brow. "What did you call me?"

"Black. You know, Nicole Rosemarie Black?" he said, "Your name?"

The girl released her legs and stepped back to the blonde.

"Oh!" she smiled shyly, "So my name is Ni-Nicole?"

All three nodded. The girl stuck out her bottom lip and tugged on her sleeve.

"Don't you remember me, Mummy?"

Nicole's eyebrows hit her hairline. "Mummy?"

_Nicole looked down into her daughter's eyes, smiling proudly. Those eyes were nothing like his. They held nothing but love and compassion. She sighed and pulled the blankets up over Katie's form. She was fifteen-years-old… what was she doing with a three-year-old daughter?_

"_Wuv you." the little girl whispered as Cole kissed her forehead._

"_I love you too, baby girl."_

"My Katie." she murmured, tears springing to her ash-colored eyes.

Nicole scooped the girl up into her arms. As soon as did Katie let tears roll down her cheeks, almost breaking her mother's heart.

"Of course, I remember you, baby girl." she whispered into the girl's curls, "I can't forget you, Kathleen Cordelia Black-Malfoy. Never ever."

"Cole?"

Nicole looked up to see a redhead being held up by a black-haired woman and a brunette.

_She knocked on the door to a compartment on the train and peeked in. Only a girl with midnight black hair sat, reading._

"_Hey, do you mind? Everyone else looks… sucky."_

_The other girl laughed. "Yeah, c'mon in." she smiled, "I'm T.J. Greemhorn."_

"_Nicole Lupin-Keith." she grinned, faking a curtsy._

_"Now babe, I don't mean to ruin your fun but you do realize we could hear you all the way up the hallway?"_

_The redhead turned and stared, lowering her headphones to her neck. The pulsing rhythm of Simple Plan could still be faintly heard._

_Her hair was a dark shade of red, mostly straight, but still had bounce. She was definitely a punk with the way she dressed, but that wasn't what Cole was paying attention to. The redhead's honey-brown eyes, lined heavily with mascara and liner, were red and puffy from crying. She must have used a water-proofing spell on her make up._

_Nicole approached slowly, smiling kindly._

"_Great song, but, luv, what's with the tears?" she inquired, brusking her cheek with her slender hand._

_The brunette walked confidently towards the Gryffindor table, a wide smile spread across her face._

_"Hey I'm Laura can I sit here?" she asked pointing at the empty seat next to Gin._

_"Sure girl," Gin answered moving over to make more room._

_"So, luv, how is it being related to the oh-so-wonderful Harry Potter?" Cole sneered, glancing hatefully at the trio._

_She could see the amusement on Laura's face and she made a crack about his head._

"_I'm Nicole Lupin-Keith. Cole." she laughed, "The day-dreaming one is Ginevra Weasley, Gin. And the girl before you was T.J. Greemhorn. We don't suck. Much unlike everyone else."_

"My girls!" she laughed, setting Katie down and hugging the three to her.

Cole turned and looked up at Draco.

"My ferret boy!" she giggled, hugging him.

"Nikki?"

The others started walking down the road at her nickname, knowing they needed privacy. The woman spun around, her thigh-length hair flying over her shoulder in raven waves. She stared up into the man's handsome face.

_"'Ello girls, guy. C'mon, pull up a milk crate, We're playin' strip-poker." Xandra replied, Irish accent and all, "The boys're losin' rather badly."_

_"I don't mind him losing," Nicole said from her seat on Goyle's lap, "'Tis pretty comfortable."_

…

_As she walked up Greg was rolling his eyes. "No, Mr. Rodent, I am not daft. I'm jus-"_

_"Greg?"_

_He looked up to see her standing there. She was still wearing that red leather dress from this morning._

_"You wanna go to Hogsmeade with me to pick up some stuff?" Cole asked._

…

_"So what are we picking up?" he asked when they reached the Hogsmeade grounds._

_"Oh, anything really, I just needed to get away from all that tension of the sexual genre." Cole replied absently._

_"Aaah. I see."_

_Cole sighed and Greg glanced at her. "What's wrong?"_

_She stopped walking and side-glanced at him, pressing her chin-length bangs behind her ear. "You just don't get it, do you?"_

_He quirked an eyebrow at her. "Get what?"_

_She grabbed the sides of his face and pressed her lips on his in a firm but soft kiss._ That I love you_…_ _she thought._

…

_Cole grinned as she exited the Hall but it faded when she realized what was going on in front of her. Her jaw dropped and her eyes brimmed with tears. She felt her heart drop down onto the floor and shattered into a million little pieces, her gut twisted in pain._

_Why doesn't the earth open up and swallow you whole when you want it to?_

_"Gregory Christian Goyle!" she shrieked._

_The two Slytherins jumped a part, as though getting shocked, and looked at her._

_"Nikki!" Why did she ever let him call her that? She had trusted him too much… "Th-This isn't what it looks like, I swear!"_

_"No Greg, I'm not stupid. I know what's going on here and I don't care!" she shrieked, "You-You fucking lying, cheating **BASTARD**!"_

_The black haired girl grabbed at glass vase and hurled it at him._

"_I hate you, you bastard!" she screamed, throat burning with soreness, "I hate you so much, Goyle!"_

_She flung another vase into his chest and let her feet carry her away._

"I don't know you." she whispered, realization was written all over her face, "Not any more."

Cole wiped a hand across her cheek, catching the tear on her sleeve.

She turned on her heel and walked off to join her friends down the road, leaving Gregory Goyle to stand alone by an empty grave. And he just wanted to lay down in it and die.

_She didn't want to know him._

**End Chapter**


	9. Blood on My Hands

_A Lighter Shade of Black_

_Blood on My Hands_

…

_So a day when you've lost yourself completely_

_Could be a night when your life ends_

_Such a heart that will lead you to deceiving_

_All the pain held in your_

_Hands are shaking cold_

_Your hands are mine to hold_

- All-American Rejects "Move Along"

…

Ginevra sighed, laying her head on the pillow behind her. She had only walked for a while and she was already exhausted.

On the way back from Hogsmeade, the girls had told Nicole everything that was going on with Gin after Draco took Katie back to his apartment to change and get her things. The redhead had quietly asked them not to mention anything to Draco, not until she was sure it was extremely serious.

"I just don't want him to worry if it's nothing." she said, "I mean, why should he? I could totally find something before my next, what, two visions?"

The other three looked at each other with concern before Laura stepped up and sat next to Gin.

"Gin-girl, are you sure this is the right thing?" she asked quietly, her eyes on the floor, "This is serious, no matter how much you just want to forget about it, it's serious. What if… What if something happens and you… y-you-"

"No!" she snapped, "It won't happen."

"But-"

"It won't happen." she whispered, "Not to me."

The others only stared down at their shoes. The silence didn't last for long.

"Gin?"

"Yeah, Cole?"

"I think I know someone who could help you, if she'll come around."

"Why doesn't she remember yet?"

"Give her time, darling."

The man wrapped his arms around his wife.

"Give her time."

"I don't think I can wait. She still thinks we didn't want her!"

Draco held Katie's hand as he carried her things back up to the castle. It was very tiring, all this running around. All he felt like doing right now was laying down in a bed and going to sleep for a day or two.

"Draco!" Katie squealed, "Draco look!"

Draco snapped his eyes open when he realized they had closed and looked to where his half-sibling was pointing. _Shit. _He let her hand go and crouched down to her eye-level.

"Katie, I want you to do something for me, okay?"

"O-Okay, Draco."

"I want you to run." he whispered, "Run as fast as you can and find your mummy and your aunties and tell them Draco needs help. Run as fast as you can and don't look back."

Katie nodded her head and gave him a look that was too old an expression for her young face.

"Go!"

Draco pushed her towards the castle and whipped out his wand. _Death Eaters_, he thought cynically,_ how lovely_.

"Hello, gents." he said casually, "Stop by for a spot of tea?"

Draco suddenly felt very wake and sober.

Katie knew there was something wrong. Something about the men in black cloaks didn't set right with her for some reason.

"You should've listened to me, Kathleen." Helga whispered as Katie raced past the doorway where she stood.

"**_MUMMY_**!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, before she collapsed to the floor with a huff.

Nicole, Laura and T.J. had just stepped out of the hospital wing so Gin could rest when they heard something that horrified all three of them.

"**_MUMMY_**!"

"_Katie_." Nicole breathed, her eyes widening even more in fear.

She took off in a dead run for the entrance hall, Laura and T.J. following behind. Nicole slid to the floor on her knees, pulling Katie into her arms, chest heaving.

"Mummy…" she whispered, panting, "Drake's-in-trouble…town-black cloaks-help!"

Nicole petted the girl's hair down and scooped her up in her arms. She looked at the other two. "Go help, Malfoy fight them off. I'll be down soon."

Taylor and Laura ran off to Hogsmeade as Nicole ran up to the infirmary… and Gin stepped out into the light, eyes narrowed and fists clenched.

Closing her eyes, Ginevra disappeared with a snap.

From the outside, it would seem that Draco Malfoy was not having any trouble at all, but handling the Death Eaters very well on his own. Of course, T.J. and Laura knew better than to just by the outside.

"You take the left, I'll go right." T.J. whispered.

"Your left or mine?"

"Does it matter?"

"Not really." Laura shrugged, charging to the left of the crowd with her holly wand out in front.

T.J. rolled her dark eyes and whistled to the right. Several glaring face turned towards her petite figure.

"'Lo all! Who's up first?" she grinned, eyes twinkling dangerously.

She ran forward, screaming hexes and curses all the way.

Draco glanced around quickly, glad to see his sister had come through in her efforts to gather up reinforcements. He slammed his elbow into the nose of a man he recognized as Vincent Crabbe and stupefied the one in front of him.

This was really getting to be a tiring afternoon.

Silently, Draco wondered where the two girls had learned to duel so well…_ I certainly wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of either wand_. He remembered that time in fourth year when Ginny had slapped him with that bat-boogeys hex.

_Beautiful wand work. Bloody brill-_

Draco was pulled out of his thoughts by the Crutacious sent into his spine.

(Sorry for the 1st person POV, but I couldn't write it any other way!)

As I watched Draco writhe and scream in pain on the ground, I could feel something boiling up inside me. Something that didn't seem as scary as it once had.

**Power.**

I glanced into a near-by store window quickly and was shocked to see my eyes a dark coal black. Ignoring it, I walked forward into the crowd, which all parted, save the one person who had hexed my love.

I crouched beside him, flicking my hand at the woman standing there with the wand. The piece of wood flew one way as her body hit the wall of a building with a thud.

"Draco." I whispered, waving a hand over his face.

His ice-blue eyes snapped opened and he jumped when he saw me. "Stay here." I murmured.

I stood and turned to the crowd once more. My brow arched involuntarily while a smirk spread across my face.

"Play nice, luvies."

I flung my arms out at them and smirked once more as they all slumped to the ground. I distinctly heard a pop, but ignored it… Until I noticed the other half of the people gone, except for about five of them.

Laura and T.J. were handling the four of them as the last one started to run. I don't know what came over me then… It was like there was someone else running after him, someone else grabbing the back of his robes and throwing him on the ground.

_Someone else making him hit his head on that rock._

I felt so numb. It tingled all through my body and settled in my stomach with a churning feeling. My lungs wouldn't take in air and my eyes were wide in shock. I could feel myself kneeling beside his body, lifting the head off of the rock, covering my hands in crimson. I gently pulled the cloak away from his face and the shock tingled through my body once…

"Terry?"

Laura and T.J. tucked their wands away and turned to see Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall finally arriving.

"I think you're a little bit late on the entrance, Professors." Laura grinned.

"Yeah, just a little." T.J. said, holding her fingers an inch apart for emphasis.

Snape rolled his eyes and the other two started looking over the bodies.

"You two-"

"Four." T.J. stressed.

"Gin and Malfoy."

"Yes, well, you four sure handled this lot quickly."

"Us three only handled a couple." Laura interjected.

"Gin did those over there." T.J. pointed to the collapsed group near the Shrieking Shack.

"I see…" he murmured, "And where is Miss Weasley?"

They both shrugged.

"Well. Go to the infirmary now." he said, "And take Mr. Malfoy with you."

I looked down into his mint-green eyes, life slowly fading away. They were opened wide in awe and his mouth was set in a grim line. I didn't realize the tears falling down until one landed on the former Ravenclaw's pale cheek.

I wanted to scream. In horror, anguish, fear, pain, guilt, remorse… who knows what… All I knew was that I wanted to scream until my lungs burst.

I reached out and used my index and middle fingers to close the eyes that betrayed us. _He had been our friend! He was Nicole's study partner! Why? Why did he do this to us?_

I crossed my arms and laid my head on them, sobbing into his robes.

I killed him.

_I killed him._

The four had successfully made it back to the castle when Snape found Ginevra crying on Terry Boot's chest. At the moment, T.J. and Laura were talking with Draco in the Gryffindor common room whilst Cole tucked Katie into bed. She had heard about it all already.

"Did you see her eyes?" Draco whispered, too shocked to speak.

"That cold, coal black… Like she wasn't even there." Laura said.

T.J. didn't say a word. The truth was, she had heard about that kind of thing at her old school. When powerful sorcerers had touched the darkness before and they were upset and had their magicks flowing, their eyes tended to take on another color. This showed that they were not in control of the magic force in them.

Draco was getting worried, they hadn't heard a word from Ginevra since she had gotten into the shower. She had barely said anything by the time she was back at the castle, either.

Nicole came down the stairs leading to the guest quarters just as Draco stood. "I'm gonna go check on Ginny."

"Okay."

**15 Minutes Earlier...**

Ginevra removed her robes and tossed them into the corner by her bed. She grabbed an old Quidditch jersey of Bill's and carried it into the bathroom. She locked the door and ran a warm bath in the tub.

As she waited, Gin looked into the mirror. She wasn't quite sure what she was looking at anymore… She wasn't little Ginny Weasley, she wasn't Ginevra Molly Weasley, she couldn't be. She wasn't a doll or a pawn or a teenager… She couldn't be.

_None of **them** had power._

Today she had changed… _But, maybe it wasn't just today_. Ever since that spell… since she got the news about her condition… she wasn't herself anymore.

"Damn you!" she screamed, slamming her fist into the looking glass.

She was glad she'd thought to put that silencing charm on the room. In case she screamed like she had so desperately wanted to earlier…

"You've got blood on your hands now."

The naked woman looked up at the shattered mirror, who had said those words meaning her own blood, now flowing freely from her knuckles and wrist. She turned the water off and climbed into the tub quickly.

"More than you know."

**End Chapter**


	10. Letters and Lovers

_A Lighter Shade of Black_

_Letters and Lovers_

_Dear Sarah,_

_What's up, oh sister mine? This is Nicole, by the by. Yes, I know, long time no see._

_I could say the same for you, dearest. But, you know, I didn't write to pick a fight or_

_anything. As you know, Mother shipped me off to England for my sixth year in school. Well,_

_I met some lovely new friends: Laura Potter, Taylor "T.J." Greemhorn, and Ginevra Weasley._

_It's Ginevra that I'm writing to you about…_

_You know how seers are usually a little less than human? Well, Gin (that's what we call_

_her, Gin) is a recently discovered seer and, well, she all human. And seeing as your not_

_being all-human was what made you run off… I thought maybe you'd help me._

_Maybe I was wrong._

_I don't know, write back a.s.a.p._

_Sign,_

_Nicole R. Black_

_(I'll explain later)_

"Hey, Nicole?"

The other girl looked up at T.J., folding her letter up. "Yeah, Teej?"

"Who are you writing?" she asked, lying back on the couch, pulling her blanket over her body.

Laura had already fallen asleep on the floor with a copy of the Quibbler on her face.

"My sister."

"Which one?" It was murmured; she was about to fall asleep.

"Sarah."

"Hmm. That's good... 'Night."

"Goodnight."

Cole smiled and crept up the stairway she had come down moments ago.

Taylor sighed in contentment as she stared sleepily into the flames as they burned up the log lying in the fireplace. As she stared, her eyes started to droop as she gave into sleep, at least for the moment...

T.J. opened her eyes again, still staring into the roaring flames. But things seemed… different somehow. The temperature had dropped somewhat, and the log in the fire that she had been watching was gone.

_I couldn't have slept for that long, could I?_ she thought silently.

The midnight-haired girl sat up, looking around wildly. She soon realized that she was laying on a couch in the _Slytherin_ common room, wearing her _Slytherin _robes with a _Slytherin_ girl and a _Slytherin_ boy standing in front of her, screaming at each other. She shrugged, turning around to listen to the fight.

"Why the bloody hell do you keep doing this, Horn?" the boy snapped, holding up a sheet of parchment, "Why do you like to piss me off so damn much?"

"Watch your mouth, Reg," the girl order, before her demeanor fell in light-hearted, "and it's because you're cute when you get all huffy."

T.J. had to admit; the way his dark hair curled around his handsome face was rather… Cute. It almost looked like hers had when she cut it so short. And the girl… She seemed familiar…

He glared at her, cobalt eyes burning.

"C'mon, Reggie!" the girl whispered, taking a step towards him and wrapping her arms around his middle, "It was just one question."

"And it was worth a plus on my A, Mel!" he snapped, pushing her away, "That could've saved my average!"

Taylor nodded, she knew how that was.

"Regulus," she murmured, "It's not that bad."

The boy, Regulus, could tell he had made her feel bad. His face softened and he stuffed the parchment into his pocket. Wrapping his arms around her, he tilted her chin up to look at him and a small smile warmed his features.

"I guess it's not."

"Mel" smiled widely and perched herself on her tiptoes to kiss his lips.

"I love you, Melissa Horn."

"I love you, too, Regulus Black."

T.J. gasped loudly as her eyes snapped open.

"_Regulus Black_?"

Draco silently opened the door to the 7th year girl's dorm, hoping that she hadn't gone to sleep, but not wanting to wake her if she had. He peered inside and sighed in frustration when he realized she was not in any one of the four-poster beds.

"Ginny?" he called, closing the door behind him, "Are you in here?"

Nothing.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped over to the bathroom door… He could feel something was wrong. Draco wasn't quite sure how he knew this, but he could just… feel it. She was in danger. And he had to save her.

"_Alohamora_." he murmured, pointing his wand to the door.

It didn't work; the locking spell was too strong. Sighing he went through numerous unlocking and opening spell before he gave up and went on to his second choice of entry.

The blonde wizard braced his foot against the door for moment, readying himself before he kicked the down in. With a grunt, Draco sent his foot into the wood of the door once, twice, three times before it finally caved in and fell onto the tiled floor of the bathroom.

The wizard took in the scene before him quickly: A broken mirror with slivers of blood on it; a pile of clothes; drops of blood leading from the mirror to the sink to the bathtub; a tub full of slightly pink-tinged water… and a mane of fiery and blood red hair floating on top of said pink-tinged water.

"Ginevra!"

Draco flung his house-shoes off and crouched down in the tub, scooping his unconscious lover up into his arms. As he lifted her nude form from the waters, he noticed a line of blood trailing down her palm. He quickly stepped out of the water and wrapped her up in a robe, laying her on the floor. Draco pulled out his wand and sat on the floor next to her, pulling her body into his lap gently.

"_Guar le Ferite_." he whispered, pointing to her palms with the piece of wood.

He watched as the long, multiple cuts came together and closed themselves up, as if being sewed together by an invisible force. When all was healed, Draco stared down into his girlfriend's face… She was so pale. She had lost so much blood… _But she had to be all right_.

"Ginevra," he murmured, pulling her up to rest her head on his shoulder, "Ginny, love, you can't leave me… Not now, not after everything we've been through to stay together."

The blonde man stroked her still-wet hair as his murmured these words in her ear.

"Please come back to me, love." he pleaded, desperate, "Please don't go…"

Draco closed his eyes and buried his face in her auburn mane.

A low moan was emitted from her mouth as she curled into his chest. They both froze as honey met ice.

"You saved me!" she exclaimed, pushing away from him.

But, Draco noticed, it was not a happy, joyful exclamation. It was more like she was accusing him of stealing or something. She was…_ mad?_ He was definitely confused.

"What?"

"Why?" she asked, "Can't you see that after what I did today, I don't feel like walking around labelled as 'murderer'?"

Draco stood up so he was looming over the petite redhead.

"Look here, Weasley," he began, grabbing her by the arm, "I won't let you die... **ever**. Voluntary or not, you aren't leaving me all alone in this world without you to make me whole."

Ginevra's eyes had flashed dangerously when he had referred to her as 'Weasley', but now looked into his with an awe and confused look.

"And as for 'what you did today'," he continued, ranting, "I don't care! Everyone knows that it wasn't your fault, Ginny. We know you didn't mean to... But it doesn't matter at any rate, because he was a Death Eater!"

He watched as her bottom lip trembled and her eyes watered up. She started crying, burying her face in his chest as he wrapped his arms around her shaking, sobbing body. His face softened and he scooped her up in his arms and carried her into the dorm, laying her on her bed. The man turned and flicked his wand at the bathroom, setting everything right.

"Please don't go." she said as he turned to the door, "I need you."

He shut the door of the dorm and crawled into bed next to his lover. "I wasn't going to, luv."

Ginevra smiled in a small way and curled into his chest, forgetting that she was still naked. Draco, however, had not. A smirk spread over his face as he pressed his mouth over his Ginevra's. Sleep did not come for another hour for the loving pair.

It was something like ten o'clock the next morning when Laura was summoned to Albus Dumbledore's office. Laura wasn't nervous, though; she couldn't be in trouble. School had not even begun yet.

"Ah, Miss Potter, I wondered if you would be late or not today." Dumbledore greeted.

Laura smiled. "What is it you wanted to talk to me about, Professor?"

The wizard's smile lessened somewhat as he met her gaze.

"Laura, I wanted to tell you exactly what it is when you feel these things, like those migraines…" he took a slow breath, "You are aware of the way Harry's scar causes him pain when the Dark Lord is near?"

"Yes."

"This is, in a way, the same thing." He continued, "But you do not sense Voldemort, only danger. Right now, your feelings are clouded by all the magic floating around here."

Laura nodded, digesting the information calmly. "So what can I do to ignore the magic and feel what I'm supposed to?"

"Professor Snape is brewing a potion for you. It should work in only one dose."

"Oh good." she smiled, "Thank you, Headmaster."

"You are very welcome, Miss Potter." he replied, "Ah, and there is one more thing. I think it would be best if you and the others get away from the castle for a while… I think that it would be best. It would certainly take away most of this tension."

Laura nodded her head. She could see the logic in that. "I'll tell them, sir."

"Thank you, Laura, have a good day."

Laura quickly made her way back to the common room, where she knew T.J., Nicole and Katie were. _A vacation from the castle?_ she thought as she ascended the stairs, _Where would we go?_

She hummed some odd tune that came to mind as she opened the portrait hole and entered.

"Hey you." T.J. greeted, looking up from her… yearbook?

"Hey yourself," she smiled, eyeing the text in her friends hands, "what's with the memoir?"

Taylor glanced down at the book and then motioned her over quickly. "I forgot Hogwarts had yearbooks." Laura murmured.

"You get them in the last year if you want them." T.J. replied absently, flipping pages before stop with a triumphant 'ah ha'.

The black-haired witch pointed to a picture on the Couples page. It was of a tall boy with curly black hair and deep, blue eyes. He had his arms wrapped around a petite girl with dark hair and dark eyes. Her cheek was resting over his heart and he stood rigid with a serious look about him, but the girl looked innocent and kind.

Laura read the caption under the picture a loud: "Regulus Black and Melissa Horn- **Voted Most Wicked Slytherins**."

T.J. smiled radiantly up at her best friend. "I've been up all morning looking for information on them."

"Uh-huh." Laura said, still clueless, "And they are?"

"My parents."

Draco stretched his arms above his head groggily, yawning. He turned his head and looked down to see his naked redheaded sweetheart lying there next to him. Her honey-brown orbs fluttered open and looked up at him.

"Hey there, naked boy." she smiled, looking him over a bit.

"Good morning, my topless temptress."

Ginevra laughed and pulled him down to her, pressing her mouth over his in a kiss. As she did so, Draco pulled her onto his lap and began to caress her back. That's when the door opened.

"Hey, Gin, do you ha-" Nicole stopped in the middle of her sentence as she realized what she had walked in on, "Oh, no, I… Here it is! Well, th-thanks, bye!"

The witch ran out of the room, one hand over her mouth with some weird scarf in the other. They exchanged a glance before erupting with laughter.

Nicole quickly descended the staircase that lead up to the girl's dormitory. Her eyes were wide with one hand covering her mouth and the other holding the scarf she hadn't been looking for. She said nothing as the other two girl's looked at her with questioning, worried glances.

"Cole?" Laura began, "You okay?"

Nicole shook her head left to right and slowly sat down in a chair at their table.

"I've been scarred for life." she said.

Laura and T.J. looked at the other girl and each other before they bolted up the stairs quickly. Cole sat there for a moment, still in shocked silence, before a small giggle erupted from her mouth. And by the time the other two returned, she was shaking in her chair with laughter. T.J. and Laura soon followed the suit.

Ginevra began down the stairs, her blush deepening with every step. She could hear her three friends rolling with laughter even at the top of the steps.

"It'll be okay, Red." he whispered in her ear from behind her, "They were just as embarrassed as us. You know they won't care."

Sighing, the redhead nodded. She knew that her friends had been embarrassed to see her and Draco… _together_. Especially Laura and T.J., who had seen the worst of the whole event. At the thought, Ginevra's cheeks flared bright red once again.

"What is it now?" her boyfriend inquired, eyes shining in mirth.

"I can't believe Laura and Taylor saw your bum…" she muttered, smile gracing her lips.

It was a later hour in the day when Colin and Dennis Creevey came down and announced themselves to be going to stay at there aunt's house in London.

"We need to get away from this castle for a while..." Colin said, smiling a little, "It's really stressful hanging out with you girls."

The two had visited all morning before going off to Hogsmeade to catch their train out.

"You know what I just remembered?"

Laura's words drifted along the long table to her best friends' ears just as an owl swooped in a dropped a small envelope onto Gin's toast. She eyed it for a moment before ripping it to shreds and examining the letter.

"What did you just remember?" Nicole asked, skewering a sausage link on her daughter's fork and handing it to her.

"That the Headmaster recommended we do the same as Colin and Dennis."

"Well here's the perfect opportunity." Ginevra interjected, waving the letter under her friends' noses.

_Hey little sister,_

_Will you please come to the safe house, Gin? C'mon please!_

_There's this girl… She utterly brilliant! You and the ladies_

_would get along with her perfectly! And you really need to_

_come… Mum is really sorry about everything, she was just…_

_you know, surprised._

_You know how she acted when Bill came home with long hair_

_and that bloody bolt in his eyebrow! Plus, I really want you to_

_meet Nymphadora Tonks. (Last name, preferred)_

_Just, you know, think about it, Gin._

_Love you,_

_Charlie-boy_

_P.S.- If yes, Dumbledore should help you get here._

"Sounds like we're heading to 'the safe house' for the rest of a rather unsatisfactory summer." Taylor stated, before she rejoined the breadstick duel she was having with her honorary niece.

"So it would seem."

Sarah allowed her eyes to scan the words neatly jotted down upon the parchment in her hands. So her sister needed her once more… For a somewhat different reason this time. She looked over at her black pit-bull, Buttons.

"Looks like we're going on a trip." she stated, standing to go pack her bags.

_Don't worry, sister dearest,_ she thought fondly, _You and my lovely niece will see me soon._

**End Chapter**


	11. Take and Break

_A Lighter Shade of Black_

_Take and Break_

Draco turned the handles of the shower right until the warm water ceased running. He was so tired. The day before had been one that scared even him. The way Ginevra had been in the fight, Nicole coming back around, those memories… But the thing that had disturbed the blonde the most was the way his girlfriend had acted when he pulled her out of the blood-tinged water.

"_Can't you see that after what I did today, I don't feel like walking around labelled as 'murderer'?"_

Wrapping the blue towel around his hips loosely, Draco stepped to the mirror with a sigh.

"You could always just walk around like that." the looking glass commented with a giggle.

"Oh be quiet." he snapped, not really in the mood for flirting with his mirror.

He sighed and flicked the lights off with his wand, moving into the living room to lock the door.

"You know, Draco dearest, she's right," murmured a feminine voice in his ear, "you really should walk about in your towel all the time."

Draco froze. He knew that voice.

"Hello again, lover."

"Pansy?" he murmured.

Then there was nothing but black as she stunned him.

Laura felt a shiver run down her spine, waking her from her nap while leaning on the window.

"Ladies, I believe we have arrived." Dumbledore stated from the front seat of the vehicle.

The four teenagers and the little girl all piled out of the car and into the street, staring at the empty, dumpy little lot between number 11 Grimmauld Place and number 13. Cole and Laura cocked their heads to the side at once and looked to Dumbledore with puzzled expressions.

"This is it?"

The headmaster opened his mouth to speak but stopped when Katie shivered.

"Yes, Kathleen?"

The child looked worriedly up at the elderly wizard. "Ric says it's dark there."

The others regarded her with arched brows and questioning looks… with the exception of her mother.

"Katie, luv, what did I tell you about talking to them?"

The child sighed and turned to a space next to her, looking upwards. "Sorry Ric."

The others shrugged it off as Albus handed the group a slip of parchment.

"Read it to yourselves."

Gin looked down at the parchment and read quickly, as she had only once before.

_The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London._

They all looked up to the supposedly empty lot and were shocked to see that a house had suddenly popped up from thin air. And what a magnificent home it was… though, a bit dark. Laura could feel the tingle of black magic seeping into her skin, making her shiver in disgust.

"Welcome, ladies, to the Black House."

T.J. stepped forward first, staring up at the knocker in the shape of twisted serpent. It seemed familiar. The large group stepped into the gloomy house and saw the many signs of life roaming about.

"Ah, Miss Greemhorn?"

"Yes, Professor?" the girl replied absently, taking in the many serpentine objects in the hallway.

"I take it you have discovered your parentage by now?"

Gin and Nicole's eyes snapped to their friend. She had forgotten to mention it to the others in all the rush of the past couple of days.

"Yes sir."

"You know of your father then, Regulus Black?"

"Yes."

"Then you must realize that this means you, Miss Black-Lupin, and Miss Potter are cousins, and the last of the Black lineage, with the slight exception of Katie."

There was a moment of silence before the three exchanged a glance. They were cousins.

"And this means that you three have joint rights to this property, the Black estate."

Their eyes were as wide as saucers.

"You mean, this is where our dads and Laura's mum… grew up?"

"Yes."

It was later on in the afternoon when the girls located Charlie in his room that they met the infamous 'Tonks'. She was a bit odd, but in the way that they all got along brilliantly. With her short, spiked hair colored bright bubblegum pink color and those pretty gray eyes, which Blacks were famous for, she was as weird as the rest of them.

But, the way Charlie acted with her didn't really suggest that he wanted to rip her clothes off and shag her right then and there. Not that Ginevra quite felt that way about her beau all the time, so who knew…

"Well, it's getting about that time." Nicole sighed with a smile, "I'm off to check that Katie hasn't annoyed the pants off any one."

Nicole stood and started down the stairs. The poor girl, having the luck she did, tripped on a rubber wand and fell down about five or six stairs with a startled cry.

"_FILTHY BLOOD-TRAITORS IN MY HOME_!" screamed a shrill, feminine voice.

The black-haired witch looked up to see the worn portrait of a middle-aged witch with the same black hair as she.

"What the-?"

Nicole regained her composure and stood gracefully, dusting off the blue sundress she wore. She marched confidently up to the picture, oblivious to the on-looking male peeking out of his room. She pressed a hand over the woman's mouth, muffling her vulgar ranting. There was a fire burning in the girl's eyes, and she was not happy.

"Look here, you horrible old hag," snapped Nicole, her other hand on her hip and her foot tapping on the step, "I am **not** in the mood for this bitching and screaming bit. I have a daughter and she is only a child. She had better not pick up any of your vocabulary, or I'll personally see to it that you're ripped down and burned into ash. Got it?"

The teen removed her finger and arched her brow at the portrait.

"Who are you?" the witch asked, eyes narrowed, "Another mud-"

"Language," the teen hissed, "and no, I am not. I am Nicole Black."

The woman pursed her lips. "And your parents?"

"Winnie Lupin and Sirius Black."

The hangings about her fame snapped shut and Nicole turned to see one of those twins with his wand aimed at the picture. He tucked it away and walked up to her.

"That was very nicely handled, Miss Black."

"Thanks. You're George, right?"

He nodded with a faint smile.

"DINNER!" rang out Molly's voice, causing the two to jump in surprise.

Ginevra looked to the floor when she heard her mother's voice cry out. Tonks, Laura, and T.J. quickly made their ways down while Gin hung back and glanced at her brother.

"What?" he asked, smiling slightly.

"Y'know, the way you and Tonks act together, it doesn't really seem like you two are tonsil-tennis partners."

For the first time in a long time, Gin could see her brother's cheeks and neck flush bright red. He was getting embarrassed at the mention of snogging the pink-haired witch?

"Are you _blushing_?" she admonished, grinning from ear to ear.

"No."

"Oh my goddess! Charlie Weasley, the great ladies' man of Hogwarts, is _blushing_ at the thought of kissing a girl? Alert the media!"

"Shut up." he snapped, though he had a small smile on his face, "I guess the way I sounded in that letter would seem a little misleading; Tonks and I are just mates… friends."

Gin wasn't quite sure how, but she knew that there was more to the situation than her brother was letting on. But she wasn't concerned; she would find out eventually.

"We better get going before Mum sends a search party."

After dinner the girls had taken to Ginevra's room and were trying to amuse themselves. Laura and T.J. were singing something close to a Wicked Witches' song while Gin flicked the words to it out with her wand and Katie was in the kitchen with Molly baking cookies. Nicole sat at the window of the room, staring out at the streets below.

They knew nothing of the magic around, nothing of the war that could end up destroying the lovely life that they had spent so much time creating. She felt like running out into the street and screaming that they should run and hide, take their kids and go far away. This whole thing was driving her absolutely crazy.

"I'm gonna go down to the garden." she said, standing and shaking her thoughts out of her head.

"Mmkay." Gin said, concentrating on remembering the words to "Charming the Prince".

Cole smiled and quietly shut the door behind her as she left. She was glad her friends could still be normal enough to have at least a little fun. As she opened the back door and stepped into the moonlit garden, she could hear the woosh of wings in the distance; it was an owl. Looking up into the night's sky, she could see a gray owl coming towards her.

_Greg?_ she asked herself skeptically; she had not seen the creature in a very long time.

The owl, Sid, perched himself on the bench in front of her and held out his leg. As she undid the small scroll from his leg, Nicole had to say that Sid looked a little less that perky. As soon as the letter was free, the gray fowl glided off into the night, leaving Nicole staring after him.

Why would Greg be writing her if she didn't want anything to do with him?

She sighed and read:

_Nicole Black,_

_I only want you to know that I loved you more than you_

_could imagine. You were- No, you are amazing. I_

_could never have allowed myself to be with you. I'm_

_not worth your tears or your pain. Don't mourn me;_

_I'm pathetic and weak. You don't deserve the horrors_

_I would have brought on you._

_Nicole, my dear Nikki, I am a traitor. I am a complete_

_bastard and I am so very sorry. I have become a slave_

_to the Dark Lord and I cannot turn back._

_Do not love me or miss me… I'm not worth it._

_- Gregory C. Goyle_

… _Only Ginevra can save him._

Nicole stared down at the slip of parchment in her hands in shock.

"I loved… a t-traitor."

Tears sparkled in her eyes and rolled down onto the parchment.

She sat like that for a while: shaking with silent tears and silent anger. She wanted to hurt him, to make him feel all the pain that she had ever felt because of him. She hated him now. She abhorred him. Despised, reviled, detested, and loathed him. She pitied every inch of the earth that his feet touched.

And she was going to show him just how much.

Nicole's head snapped up as she felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned to see George Weasley.

"What's wrong?"

She quietly handed him the parchment and stared up into the sky as he sat and read it. He finished and set it beside her.

"He's right, you know." the redhead said quietly.

"What?" she croaked, voice hoarse.

"You deserve some one better than a traitor."

She sighed and jumped a little as he wiped a tear off of her cheek. Turning and staring into his eyes, she could see something that made her body hum a bit. **Compassion.** Something she had never seen in a boy's eyes. _But he's not a boy,_ whispered a small voice in her head.

She never got to hear the rest of the sentence as George leaned down and gently pressed a kiss to her lips, as though she could break if he were anything but gentle. She felt her throat tighten as she thought about it.

She had already broken.

**End Chapter**

**A/N: **For a little help on the bloodlines of ADSoR and ALSoB go to - www. geocities .com/ drakenginger4eva/ untitled.jpg


	12. Meetings

_A Lighter Shade of Black_

_Meetings_

The next morning, Ginevra stared tiredly into her corn flakes. She might have over done it on the spellwork last night. Laura and T.J. were nursing sore throats from singing so much and Nicole was oddly quiet at breakfast. Gin paid her no mind, though, and continued to eat her cereal.

"Good morning dears." Molly said drowsily.

"Morning." they chorused.

"Here's your mail, came a few minutes ago."

The older woman tossed two letters onto the table and walked out with her coffee in hand.

"Cole and Gin." T.J. announced.

The girls reached out and ripped open their letters, reading quickly.

"You'd think he'd write me so-"

"Blaise and Tracey say hello and they love you. They're working over-time in Diagon Alley, barely found time to write this note." Gin interrupted Laura, still reading.

There was another moment of silence as the two finished.

"Blaise wants me to meet him at the Leaky Cauldron two days from now. It's really important." Gin stated, folding the letter up again.

"Sarah says she's in room seven at the Leaky Cauldron."

"We'll go the day after tomorrow and meet both of them." Laura declared.

"Hey, here's something I've been wondering about; what is it that makes Sarah so… special?"

"She's half Veela." Nicole replied, biting her toast, "Always had Mom's boyfriends (who were, like, thirty or forty) throwing themselves at her. Not to mention all my sisters' boyfriends and crushes. That's why she ran off to live in the Caribbean. Didn't want to be labelled a slut anymore."

Ginevra looked at Cole with wide eyes. "You mean, I'm gonna be half Veela and have all the guys at my feet?"

"No," she replied, buttering another piece of toast, "She's half already and she said she was going to give you half of her… whatever. So you'll be one fourth Veela and just have a little bit more appeal."

"Good."

The four girls looked up from the conversation as George entered the kitchen in only a pair of smiley-face boxers. He grabbed the toast in Cole's hand and the mug of coffee on the counter.

"Thanks." he said, taking a gulp and sitting across from his sister and next to Nicole.

"Yeah," she said quietly, "no problem."

Ginevra thought it was rather strange that her friend, who would usually never let anyone get away with touching her food, had let George snatched her toast right before she could bite it. _Could she… No! That's not even possible._

The redhead shrugged it off and silently began to wonder what Blaise wanted to tell her that was so important. Laura stood up and walked out of the room quietly… Only to walk right back in a minute later.

"Oh sweet Merlin," she cried, clutching her hand over her eyes, "I'm _blind!_"

"What?" T.J. asked, "What is it?"

She stood and went out to investigate what her friend had seen that horrified her so. Of course, the answer was that Ronald Weasley was out in the hall making out with Hermione Granger, as they had been doing for the past week or two.

Two days passed and the girls found themselves in the Leaky Cauldron.

"Blaise won't be here for about two hours, we can go on up and get this thing with Sarah over with." Nicole said, looking around for any sign of her sister, "I think she's already there."

The four girls made their way up the stairs by the bar and to room seven. Nicole, who was standing at the front of the group, reached out her fist and knocked on the door. They waited a moment until the oak door swung open to reveal an empty room with a potions set on the table.

The door closed behind them and they turned to see a tall, shapely woman with flowing golden-brown curls and wide brown eyes. She had to be Sarah. Although, she didn't look like any Veela (half-blood or not) that any of the teens had seen before… She was even lovelier.

The other three watched as Nicole rushed forward and embraced her sister.

"Been a while, eh?" Cole smiled as the pulled back.

"Yeah." Sarah whispered, "But, I suppose we should get on with this. It'll take a while for everything to be done."

And so they began… and thirty minutes later, Ginevra drank one half of the potion as Sarah drank the other and the two lay on the beds. They were linked together by a few strings of magic from the three girls that stood watching, fascinated.

"Cole, you could catch me up on your life while I'm laying here."

She smiled and began to tell her sister about everything that had been going on ever since she left Romania. By the time her story was finished, so was the spell. Ginevra was now safe from any harm that her visions could give her and Sarah was packing away her things once more.

Blaise sat at a table in the corner of the Leaky Cauldron, drumming his fingers on the tabletop. He had been waiting for only a few minutes, but everything always seems much longer when you need to say something important to some one and they're not around.

"Hey Blaise."

The eighteen-year-old looked up and grinned as the four ladies slid into seats at the table, his Laura right next to him and Ginevra across from him.

"So, what's so very urgent?" she asked, pushing hair back from her face. She looked tired.

"Are you okay?" he inquired, now finding that he couldn't tell her as quickly as he'd like to, "You look exhausted."

"What? Oh, yes, I'm fine. Just need a few more hours' sleep." she reassured him, "So what's up?"

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Blaise began, "It's Draco."

Her eyes widened and she looked positively ghostly.

"He's been taken by Voldemort."

There was nothing but silence as Gin stared across the table in shock.

"No." she whimpered and, closing her eyes, she disappeared with a pop.

Ginevra raced down the street to number twelve Grimmauld Place and threw herself inside. She rushed past the many residents on the stairs before entering her room and flinging herself on her bed. She shook with tears as she thought of what that evil bastard was doing to her lover.

She was so tired… She needed to sleep. Closing her eyes, the redhead fell into a fitfull sleep.

_Screams pierced through the air as the cruel woman sliced the blade across his skin.She stepped through the door and into a cold, gray room. There was a chair in front of her, in which a man was tied and bound. He wasn't facing her, so she could not see who it was, but she had feeling she already knew. Stepping around to stand in front of him, she saw his blonde head drooped against his chest and she felt a rip in her heart._

"_Oh, Draco…" she murmured, kneeling before him in a moment and touching her hand to his cheek, "What have they done to you?"_

_His head lifted up a bit and his gray-blue eyes burned into hers through his hair._

"_Red…" he whispered, and she felt a small, watery smile on her face, "My sweet, beautiful Red… I'm dying… There's no hope."_

"NO!" she screamed, sitting bolt upright in her bed.

She couldn't, she wouldn't just sit around while the man she loved was tortured and killed.

**End Chapter**


	13. Gryffindor Tactics

_A Lighter Shade of Black_

_Gryffindor Tactics_

It was the next afternoon when the others had brought her lunch up to her that Ginevra told them about her vision-dream. They had all looked ghostly at the mention of the torture of Draco. They sat in silence as Gin stood and approached her trunk across the room.

"What are you doing, Gin?" Laura asked.

"I'm getting ready." she whispered.

The redheaded witch had a fiery aura around her and they could all see she was quite serious. She was shoving and piling things into a backpack at her side. Not things like clothes or jewelry; the teen had a spell book and a few unidentifiable things already inside. She looked so regal and poised that, at the moment, anyone could have mistaken her for a bohemian warrior readying herself for battle.

"Gin, babe, you're scaring me." T.J. said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Look, I know this is the stupidest thing I've done yet, but I'm not just going to let him die by Voldemort's hand." she said.

She swung the bag up onto the bed and snatched up a small pile of clothes from the trunk.

"I'll be back after my shower."

When the door shut behind her the other three looked as though they hadn't seen sun in days.

"What are we going to do?" Laura asked, "She's serious about finding Drake, we can't let her go alone!"

"But we can't all go with her."

Nicole looked up from her hands and into the others' eyes.

"I'll go." she said, "I have a reason to."

"But you have a reason to stay, too!" Laura said, "Remember? Katie?"

"I know, but you just don't understand." Cole said, a picture of Goyle flashing in her mind.

"Wait, wait!" T.J. snapped, "How can we even be sure only two teenage witches will defeat the Dark Lord?"

"Taylor, you know as good as I do that Gin has enough power inside her to kill him three times over." Laura said, "But, the only thing is, it all has to be triggered into revealing itself."

"Strong emotional stress?" Cole suggested, gesturing to a picture of Draco at Gin's bedside.

"Good point."

There was a moment of silence as they gathered their thoughts.

"I'm going." Cole stated, her tone final.

"But-"

"No buts, I'm going." she snapped, "You two stay here with Kate. When we're close, I'll contact you; then you send in reinforcements. Send being the keyword, you guys have to stay here. Send the Dream Team, Bill, Charlie, and the twins. No doubt, they'll send the Order."

Nicole let out a shaky breath and sat on the bed in her room.

She was scared. She was so scared for all her friends and newly found family. But she was mostly scared for Ginevra… _What if something went wrong when she was up against Voldemort and using her deep power? What if she got hurt?_

_What if-_

_**Shut up!**_

That cruel little voice in the back of her mind had almost said something she knew was so possible that it was scary. It was the deepest fear of all.

Nicole clicked her wand holster onto her belt and fastened up her knee-high dragon-hide boots. She wasn't even sure what had made her volunteer for the mission, besides the idea of beating Gregory Goyle to a bloody pulp. She wanted to protect her friends and family… and especially her daughter.

Their so-called battle plan was a half-baked idea off the top of her head and she was fully willing to admit that it might not work. But by Merlin's wand, she was going to protect everything that mattered by any and all means.

Even if it meant risking her neck.

That night, around ten o'clock, Nicole had met George in the study on the second landing whilst her friends went down to the garden. She hugged him to her small frame tightly and pulled away to look into his ocean-blue eyes.

"I'm leaving." she whispered.

"Where?"

"With your sister to save Draco Malfoy from Voldemort."

"What?" he whispered frantically.

"You asked."

"Why?"

"She loves him and I have... _unfinished business_."

He nodded, letting go his hold on her arms and stepping back.

"Goyle." he muttered.

"Yes."

She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck again and he hugged her to him.

"A kiss goodbye?" he requested, the twinkle in his eyes gone.

"It's not goodbye, George." she murmured, pulling his nose to touch her own, "It's wish me luck and I'll see you soon, babe."

He pressed his mouth down over hers and kissed her in a way that clearly told her he was afraid.

The two teenagers stepped into their room at the Leaky Cauldron without the intent to sleep. As Ginevra snapped the locks of the door shut, Nicole laid out a map on the small table in the corner. She pulled out a crystal on the end of a cord and opened to Gin's marked page in the spell book.

Scrying had never been one of her strong points at the Institution, but she could always try. This was for Draco, after all.

"Ready, love?"

The redhead only nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat.

Nicole handed her the crystal and told her to concentrate on Draco as hard as she could. Gin held it over the map and waited for her friend to begin. Cole exhaled deeply before she began.

"_Dear Fates above us,_

_And possibly below,_

_We request your guide,_

_Please point us where to go!_

_Our will is strong_

_Our might is high_

_We must find her love_

_And go where evil lies_

_The impurity of earth_

_The evil from beyond_

_Fates help us_

_We will find them before the crimson dawn…_"

The girls never noticed the next morning, as they charged into Gregory Goyle's flat, that the lines of the horizon were tinged with crimson. The crimson that would be the blood spilled on that night.

**End Chapter**


	14. Popping and Portkeys

_A Lighter Shade of Black_

_Popping and Portkeys_

"_Where did they take him?_" Ginevra snapped in a deadly hiss.

Nicole knew that if a snake had any specific tone of voice, that it would be the one her friend was demanding in right now. She was so angry and desperate to find Draco that Cole could feel the magical energy pulsating off of the redhead. If Goyle even tried to lie to her, she might hex him into oblivion.

What little bit of her mother was in her made Nicole hope he would try.

He turned to face her now. "Our place, Niks." he whispered, "Salvation is there for him."

At those words, Gregory Goyle's eyelids slide down and his last breath escaped him. Ginevra picked up a small blue vial and read the label before tossing it to her friend.

"Poisoned himself." Gin stated, "Couldn't live with the shame of betraying his friends."

Nicole whipped her wand out and pointed it at the vial, muttering a few well-chosen words.

"Touch the bottle, Gin, it'll take us to the place."

The shorter teen touched the bottle and a few seconds later she could feel the sickening tug behind her belly-button that could only mean one thing.

"I hate Portkeys." she muttered as they both arrived at their destination.

"Same here, but you couldn't have apparated. You didn't know where it was."

Only then did Ginevra take in her surroundings. They were standing outside of a cave that had hanging roses dangling in front of the opening and she saw a faint blue glow coming from deep inside. As she turned and looked down at the cliff, a numbness flinched through her body; she despised heights.

"We're right above Hogsmeade." Nicole stated, "Just about half-way up that great mountain."

…

They had reached the very end of the cave now and Ginevra was beginning to get butterflies in her stomach for the first time tonight. What if Goyle had lead them wrong? _What if it was a trap? What if -_

"Gin, look!"

Ginevra stopped and stared at the table before her. It had a bow and a quiver of arrows laid out on it and a sword that looked rather wicked with its perfectly straight blade and the silvery-green tint of it. Now that she got a closer look at the arrows' tips, she could see that they were not only silver; they were more of a silver-blue color. It was so very strange to see weapons with the craftsmanship that these had. They could have been fashioned by ancient elves or even Veela.

Ginevra was so mesmerized that she had almost reached out and grabbed them until Nicole pulled her back slightly.

"Don't touch them, Gin." Cole warned.

"But-"

"Don't touch them yet. They're Portkeys and they'll lead us right to Draco, I'm guessing." Nicole continued, releasing her friend's hands, "Are you sure you're ready?"

"Please don't ask me that," Ginevra whispered, "I'm about to do something extremely stupid and Gryffindor by charging in there unprepared. So, please, don't ask me if I'm ready."

Nicole hugged her friend tightly.

"Don't worry, babe." she said, grinning into her friend's shoulder, "I've got a plan."

Taylor sat on the corner of Katie's bed with a storybook in her hands. She had been reading the small girl a bedtime story until she fell asleep. The teen slowly and carefully got off of the bed and set the book on a nearby shelf. She touched a kiss to the girl's forehead before leaving the room, cracking the door open a little and making her way to the room she shared with Laura down the hall.

"Any news?" she asked, closing the door and plopping on her bed.

"No, but I can feel something." Laura replied, gazing out the window hauntingly, "It's getting stronger... _He's_ getting stronger."

The girls both jumped as a beeping sound filled the room. T.J. grabbed the gold-bronze coin on her bedside and whispered something.

"Cole? Gin? Are you there?"

"Yeah it's us." that was Cole.

"What's up?"

"We're somewhere near Little Hangleton, just outside of the town. Send back-up."

"We'll be there, too."

"No!" Gin now, "Stay with Katie-girl and send the reinforcements soon!"

The communicator beeped and the voices were lost. The teens exchanged a glance before pulling on cloaks and boots and strapping on their wands.

"We'll leave Katie with Tonks, she's too ill to fight."

Laura ran quickly to her cousin's room as Taylor when upstairs to wake the Weasley boys there.

…

Harry bolted upright the moment his scar pained. It was a quick jolt, like static electricity, but he knew what that meant. Voldemort's power was growing. He jumped out of bed the moment his cousin pushed his door open. She could tell by the looks of him that he had just felt was she was feeling now.

"Ginny and Nicole" (she only said Ginny so he would know who she meant) "went totally Gryffindor. They ran off to rescue Draco Malfoy from the Dark Lord."

"She risked her life for Malfoy?" Harry demanded angrily, pulling a shirt on as well as his shoes.

Laura dropped her regal war-face for a moment and smirked faintly. "She's got a thing for ferrets."

Harry rolled his eyes and grabbed his cloak. "Whatever, we've got to wake the others."

…

Charlie opened his eyes slowly and smiled as he saw Tonks shift against his chest. He and N'Dora had fallen asleep talking again, he supposed. His N'dora? No, no… they were just mates, friends. He liked her and all, but…

_But what?_

He thought about it a moment. Truth be told, there really wasn't any reason he shouldn't have asked her on a date. _Just to see how it went, of course._

Charlie was pulled from his thoughts by the whole household storming down the stairs in their pajamas with wands outstretched and the hysterical ranting of his mother.

"What do you mean** Draco Malfoy**?" she wailed, her fiery gaze upon Harry, "No daughter of mine will risk her neck against the Dark Lord for some rich, blonde brute!"

Charlie would have rolled his eyes at that, but the way Tonks shot to her feet with her hair flying everywhere (and also going from a long smooth, dark brown to short and blood red) had captured his attention for the moment. _Why? _He had seen that reflex of hers come out many times before, why should it make him feel something now?

Shaking himself out of the confusing thoughts, Charlie made his way over to his mother and the group around her. As he did, the sound of two distinct '**pop**'s didn't quite register with him.

"What's going on?"

**End Chapter**


	15. A Twisted Beauty

_A Lighter Shade of Black_

_A Twisted Beauty_

Ginevra felt a brief opening in the air around her as T.J. and Laura popped into the cave. Truth be told, she had had the feeling that the two girls wouldn't listen to her. No, she had only hoped that they would.

"Pick your weapons, ladies," she murmured without emotion, reaching out first for the emerald-tinged blade.

The other three barely had time to register what had just occurred as the loud crack shuddered through the cavernous halls they stood in. Ginevra had disappeared into thin air once again.

"On three we grab the arrows." Nicole stated, always the one quick to control the situation.

'Three' was still ringing in Taylor's ears as the three of them popped out of and into existence once more. She took in her surroundings, gasping aloud at the haunting beauty of the manor before her. Beautifully constructed and you could tell the previous owners had kept the - well, everything trim and proper. But now, she noticed with a twinge of sadness, almost every inch of the large mansion was covered in ivy and most of the windows were boarded up.

Gin stood a few yards ahead of them, sword in hand with that same regal, fiery look on her face. Her eyes were fixed upon her friends when she turned to face them.

"Please don't follow me. Send for help." she whispered, her lovely voice carrying to their ears on the wind.

The three knew from the way her voice filled with all sorts of emotions that they should do as she said to. She turned back to the large, looming house that no one believed could have ever been a home and began her march. Her hair was pulled into a strict ponytail that swished as she turned, trying to keep the tears from falling out of her large, brown eyes.

Laura turned and quickly conjured up a small fire and tossed a bit of emerald powder into it as she yelled, "Black House!"

Tonks peeked her fiery red head into Katie Black-Malfoy's room and smiled. She had agreed to stay with Katie and Molly if and when everyone else set out for Charlie's sister and her friends. They had only noticed that Laura and Taylor were gone after a few minutes of unanswered questions aimed at them.

Tonks crept into the small room and sat on the edge of her bed, careful not to move it too much. She lightly brushed one of Katie's dark curls behind her ear, smiling at the little girl. Katie had seen so much and yet she was still a happy little girl with curly hair and big, blue eyes.

…

Charlie sat on the couch with his head in his hands and his brothers standing around doing basically the same thing.

_Why?_

That was the only thing running through his mind at the moment. Why would his sister run off in the middle of the night without any other means of back up than her three best friends? Why would she run off to save Malfoy? _Why would she do something so stupid and harebrained?_

_Because she loves him_, that little voice in the back of his mind rang out, _She loves him, and she's so bloody Gryffindor that she wouldn't dare **plan** something out!_

Charlie could barely contain the grin that was longing to spread on his face. His sister was in love, of course! Why else would she act so dotty? He stood up and made his way towards Katie's room, where he knew N'dora would be.

Ginevra stepped through the door of the great manor and breathed in the rotting smell of wood. It filled her with a sense of longing for the souls that once lived and breathed within the walls of the manor.

Her mother had always told her that a house that had been lived in for a long time by the same people could have a… well, a sort of soul. (More like an aura that expresses itself to magical people.) She'd never believed it until she felt this house's longing for the people who lived before.

Or, perhaps it wasn't the fact that the old manor missed the members of the family themselves, but more like it missed being lived in. Being alive with the movement and sound and souls of the family.

Ginevra looked to the coat rack next to her and, without really thinking about it, carefully slid an old coat off. The once fine, dark black garment was now covered with inches of dust and was tattered and torn from moths. Gin could tell that it once belonged to a young man as she slid it on over her blouse.

She knew that she must have been a sight to see wearing that coat and holding her sword with this regal, 'don't-give-me-a-reason' look on her face.

Silently, she was wondering if anyone could have told how afraid she was.

As Ginevra grasped the sword tightly in her hand, preparing to ascend the steps, a line from her favorite bedtime story floated into her mind.

"**_In the tallest room of the highest tower - which was at the top of the steepest stairs - there lay a fair-haired princess sleeping."_**

She smiled in the most twisted way as she recited the verse from memory. Of course, this was a more inside out version of _Sleeping Beauty_.

…

"Let's go."

Charles looked up from his shoelaces (which he had been tying) to the lovely face of N'Dora Tonks. The woman had just walked into his room and shut the door before she said those words. Charlie was wondering what had her feeling so ready.

"Tonks, you can't possibly go; you haven't been feeling too great, remember?"

"But Charlie, c'mon! This is Ginevra we're talking about! Not some witch or some muggle chit. Damn it, Charlie, this is your sister. And I happen to like her a lot and I don't want her hurt by the darkest wizard since Grindelwald!" she babbled, "Especially not for the sake of saving my cousin!"

Charlie shook his head firmly.

"I know who we're talking about!" he snapped, "So don't make it sound like I don't! She's my sister and my responsibility and I don't want you hurt over her stupid Gryffindor tactics! So you're staying here!"

Charlie stood up and snatched her wand out of her hand and stuck it in one of the many pockets of his pants. Nymphadora only sat and stared at the tall, muscular Weasley. She had never seen him so fierce and protective… so afraid.

Standing, she touched a hand to his cheek and turned him to face her.

"It'll be okay, Charlie." she murmured, "She's got the best brothers in the world to protect her from the bad guys."

Charlie stared down into her deep brown eyes and smiled gently. "Thanks N'dora."

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead just before Laura's head popped up in the fireplace.

"Gin's gone into this big creepy mansion and I'm guessing we need back up for when she comes out."

Laura had barely gotten the last words out when Charlie disapparated.

**End Chapter**


	16. Destroy Me

_A Lighter Shade of Black_

_Destroy Me_

"She is coming."

The Dark Lord's words rang out through the vast rooms of the Riddle House. He did not sound defeated, nor excited at the thought. In fact, there was no sort of emotion in his voice at all. But, of course, this wasn't any new occurrence.

He looked to his minions with glowing red eyes. "Leave. I don't believe I'll need your assistance."

Something wasn't right.

Nicole stood staring to the vast manor as Laura, Taylor, and Charlie talked of some kind of makeshift plan. She could feel it in her bones, though. Nothing that they tried was going to work because he didn't want it to. Now, her thoughts wandered back to Goyle's last letter to her.

'…_Only Ginevra can save him.'_

A tingle went through her body as she remembered those words scrawled out on parchment. Now she understood. She knew that only Gin would even have a chance at rescuing Draco. And anything they did was futile to help.

Striding forward, Nicole reached out and jerked the handle of the oak door violently. It didn't budge.

"Oh damn it all!" she cried out, falling back on her bum, "It's useless! Only Gin has a shot!"

Ginevra stood outside the looming door at the top landing of the stairs, her breath coming in short puffs. She couldn't help the shudder that rippled through her body. Just the thought of Voldemort strong and powerful and just behind that door made her want to turn and bolt it.

"_My dear, sweet Ginevra…"_ a familiar voice rang out, silky and smooth, _"you have finally come back to my side."_

She felt that nervous jerk in her stomach as realization hit.** Tom**. It was Tom Riddle behind that door, not the infamous Lord Voldemort. The sixteen-year-old boy who stole her soul.

"_Come and see me, Ginevra."_ he called,_ "I long to see your lovely face."_

She could feel his spell wash over her. As it did, she had the all too familiar feeling of loosing her control, but still seeing what was going on. It was like a bad dream she couldn't escape, no matter how hard she tried.

Reaching her hand out, she gently pushed the door open and stepped into the dreary room.

And there he sat, Tom Riddle in all his glory, chocolate brown locks and lovely blue eyes. He still had those some Adonis-like looks that made him so beautiful, but this time Ginevra saw past them. This time she knew exactly what this boy was about.

She watched him, transfixed, as he stood gracefully and stepped right in front of her.

"_Sweet girl…"_

He stroked her cheek with one hand and she couldn't quite bring herself to shiver.

"_You've grow into true beauty, Ginevra."_

She felt his hand at the small of her back and the other pull the emerald sword from her grip. She could do nothing but let him. His spell over her had always been too powerful. Now that she thought about it, though, this feeling he had over her was different… Nothing like when she was a silly eleven-year-old. Ginevra looked into his azure eyes and knew what was so different…

**Desire.**

She gasped as he slid his cool lips over her own. Her hands lay on his shoulders stiffly and one of his hands wandered up to cup her jaw while the other remained on the small of her back.

It was a few moments before he finally broke away and Ginevra could feel bile rising in her throat. What had she done? Allowing herself to be kissed that way by anyone other than Draco? She felt the color draining from her face.

"_Why Ginevra, what's wrong?"_ Riddle held her by the upper arms and looked into her face.

She could almost swear he cared.

"I love you, Tom." she murmured, her eyes growing wide as soon as those words were out.

What was she talking about? She **despised** this creature! She didn't feel anything like love towards him! If she could have, at that moment Ginevra would've ripped him limb from limb and burned his vital organs in the glowing embers of him fireplace.

She could see the wicked grin flash in his face.

"_I love you, too, Ginevra,"_ he replied, barely hiding the wicked laughter from his voice, _"Won't you come away with me and we can rule the wizards and muggles with our power?"_

With his crazed words still fresh in the air about them, she felt control slowly return to her. That dreamy feeling slipped away quickly.

"**_NO!_**" she screamed, her hand raising up to connect with one of those high cheekbones of his.

"What?" he snapped, grabbing her wrist in a crushing grip before she could strike him, "What did you say to me, you insolent little twit?"

Tears sprang into her eyes as his grip brought her to her knees. "No!"

"We'll just see." he murmured darkly, "Come along."

She refused to stand and Riddle settled to drag her over to a door across the room. When he opened it, she could see Draco tied to that same chair and she let out a sob as she saw how rarely his chest was moving up and down.

"Oh Draco…" Ginevra murmured, wrenching her wrist from Riddle's grip and throwing herself down next to the man she loved, "Oh, please be alive… _please…_"

She reached to check the pulse in his neck where she had kissed him so many times before. It was faint, but still there. If she could only get him out of here quickly, Madame Pomfrey could help him.

"You are a very lucky little monster, Riddle," she said in that deadly hiss of hers as she stood, brushing off her jeans and the tears on her face, "Lucky that he's still alive, because otherwise you'd be worse off than what I'm still going to do to you."

Riddle arched his brow at her skeptically and a grin spread over her angelic face. The spell was out of her mouth before he even touched his wand.

"_Je vous envoie dans l'obscurité! A jamais et un jour que vous resterez! Vos mals ont essuyé de la terre! Rien de vous restez!_"

Her russet eyes changed into a cold, unfeeling black as she gazed upon his beautiful, fading self. Her trademark Weasley-red hair was shock-white and she could feel her pulsing veins growing close to her now pale skin. The intensity of this spell felt like it could suffocate her… power and magic filled the air and mingled with screams of shock and objection.

A whip-like crack sounded and afterwards… silence.

"_He's gone,_" she murmured, a triumphant grin spreading on her face, "_it's over._"

Ginevra swayed on her feet before the floor rushed up to meet her and darkness ensued.

**End Chapter**


	17. Epilogue

_A Lighter Shade of Black_

_Epilogue_

Draco loosened the tie around his neck and slumped down into the armchair next to Ginevra's bed. It was his lunch break and, as always, he was here to visit for a while before he had to head back to the office. After his wounds and scars had healed from the various torture techniques of Bellatrix Lestrange and Pansy Parkinson, Draco had gone and applied for a job at the Ministry… Magical Law Enforcement. Kind of like an attorney.

"Hey there beautiful," he said with a small smile, "sleeping still? You must really be exhausted… I don't blare you, luv. They say I was out for about a week… But, of course, I came to long enough to ask about you and pass out again. You haven't even stirred."

Draco grasped one of her soft, pale hands in his own and placed a kiss on it.

"I love you," he whispered, laying his head down on her stomach, "I wish you had enough common sense to think before you do half the stuff that ends you up in the hospital, but I still love you, Weasley."

And then, miraculously, as though the fates were actually listening for once, a hard slap landed on the back of Draco's neck and caused him to shoot up. His blue-gray eyes shot to Ginny's honey-brown and he jumped.

"You ungrateful clod!" she exclaimed, "You wouldn't even be sitting here were it not for my _lack of common sense_! And don't call me Weasley."

He felt a grin spread over his face. "You're awake."

"No, you think?" she said sarcastically, "How long have I been out?"

Draco sighed and laid a hand on her stomach. "Ginny, you've been comatose for three months now. The mediwitches said you must have had a lot of pent-up magic that needed an outlet, because that spell you did _should have_ killed you if you were only a sixth year student. For the longest time they couldn't think of the reason that you would have so much power… But they finally figured it out when you started gaining weight this last month…"

"What?" she asked, touching her stomach where Draco had, "Why?"

"Ginevra, babe… You're three months pregnant."

…

It was now a week later and Ginevra was sitting in the kitchen of the Black House, having a cup of tea and thinking. She was pregnant with Draco Malfoy's son. She wasn't really thinking about much else.

"What will we name him?" she thought aloud, millions of names popping up in her mind, "Draco Junior? Edward? Jacob? Graham?"

"How about Red?"

The redhead turned and glared at the father of her baby.

"Shut up, Malfoy," she said playfully, "remind me, how did you get the girls to let you stay here again?"

After the defeat of Voldemort, she had learned, the Order had allowed T.J., Laura, and Nicole joint rights to the home of their parents, but they were back in school at the moment, so they allowed Gin to stay there while she was pregnant and unable to attend school. She had also learned that her picture was plastered all over the wizarding world, thanks to the _Daily Prophet. _Also thanks to the _Daily Prophet_, she was widely known as 'the Queen':

'_The Queen is a reference to the prophecy of_

_Cassandra Escalus in 1981:_

"**_Pure and of the dark is she_**

_**With companions, three,**_

_**Loyal and faithful,**_

_**And she will love he**_

_**Betrayal shall befall the one caught between life and death**_

_**History joins she with nothing but the others**_

_**Feeling saves the girl of blood to the Prince**_

_**Friend of the betrayer, be captive by Corruption**_

**_The Queen sees darkness as the Prince feels evils abroad"_**

_(The Queen is one Miss Ginevra Weasley and, of course, the_

_Prince is Mr. Harry Potter)_

"**_As the end of the new moon approaches,_**

**_The past returns from the place of resting and lies…"_**

_This is clearly referring to the events that lead up to the Dark Lord's_

_defeat!'_

_Damn that Justin Finch-Fletchley and his "soaring career in journalism". _Gin thought moodily, glaring down at the paper.

"They only let me stay because you're here and they think I should protect you from _certain people_." he said, pouring himself some tea.

Of course, she knew he was talking about Harry, who had convinced himself that since he was now ready for a relationship with her that she would instantly love him too. He had shown her this the day after she got out of St. Mungo's when he had cornered her alone in the kitchen of her parents home and tried desperately to snog her senseless.

"_Potter, I know you're nothing but a thick git, but would you kindly get away from the mother of my child, you smarmy bastard?"_

She smiled at the memory of Draco walking in and rescuing her from a very lonely Boy-Who-Lived.

"Well, anyway, what should we name this little boy?" she asked, rubbing her stomach as he seated himself next to her.

"Russell Narcissus Malfoy." Draco stated solemnly.

"Ah, no." she smirked, "I don't mind Russell, but Narcissus is a big, fat no."

"Russell Draco?"

Ginevra shook her head and sipped her tea.

"Well, let's not think about that for a second… I need to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"When do you want to get married?"

Needless to say, the tea that she was about to swallow was now all over her copy of the _Daily Prophet_ and she was staring at her boyfriend like he had grow another head.

"What **are** you talking about?"

"Malfoys don't have children out of wedlock." he stated calmly, waving his wand at the spilled tea, "So, when would you like to be married?"

"Do I not get a choice on the matter?"

"I just asked you-"

"I mean getting married period!"

"You don't want to?"

She sighed and poured another cup of tea. This was going to be a long night.

… **one month later**

Draco twirled his newly-wed wife about the dance floor cautiously.

"I'm not made of glass, Draco." she whispered, slightly annoyed.

"But I don't want to hurt you or Russell."

Gin smiled and waved to her friends as they danced past. She had been kind of shocked to here about Nicole and George's little romance had broken up with him saying she was too much like himself and Fred, but still a good friend. But the Queen was glad to here that Nicole was still very much the same girl she had met on the Hogwarts Express before sixth year, dating the handsome Darius Naetlon, a mediwizard who had helped recover Ginevra from the Riddle Manor.

Of course, Tracey and Taylor were still going strong, as well as Laura and Blaise. The girls had even taken jobs at the _Elysium_, the club Tracey and Blaise managed.

Katie was still talking to those ghosts no one could see (who they had discovered were the Founders of Hogwarts), but other than that she was living a quiet and healthy life the way her mother had hoped she would.

Ginevra was pulled out of her thoughts as she saw a flash and Colin Creevey with a camera over by their wedding cake, chatting it up with her father.

"Oh, goddess, why did Colin have to bring that damn camera? I bet I look horrible…" her words drifted off as she looked up into her husband's shining eyes.

"You've never looked more beautiful."

**End Story**


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